At least 9 dead and 300 missing due to a mudslide in Brazil

At least nine people died, 300 are missing and 189 were saved in the town of Brumadinho, in Minas Gerais, as a result of a landslide by the failure of a dam and overflow of two others containing the company's mineral waste. Vale, the largest iron producer in the world, announced Saturday the fire department of this Brazilian state.

A river with mineral residues and mud buried the company's Vale facilities yesterday and various homes in rural areas.

The Governor of Minas Gerais, Romeu Zema, admitted that the probability of finding survivors was minimal and indicated that the number of victims could be more than three years earlier, when the dikes of the mining company Samarco which also participates Vale. , will cause the death of 19 people in the same state.

"The spill has characteristics different from Mariana's, which are hundreds of kilometers long and will cause more casualties, but will be more limited territorially," Zema said.

The tragedy of that time generated a wave of mineral waste of seven million cubic meters that virtually scratched the city of Bento Rodrigues, which falls under the jurisdiction of Mariana (Minas Gerais), and caused incalculable damage on 650 km the Doce River basin.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro plans to fly over the disaster-stricken area on Saturday, while firefighters have resumed relief operations in an area near Brumadinho, a town about four kilometers from the large open-air museum. 39; Inhotim.

After the disaster, which led to many destruction, the justice of Minas Gerais imposed a blockade of 1,000 million reals (about 270 million dollars) to Vale, the largest producer and exporter of iron in the world.

The judicial decision responds to a request from the government of Minas Gerais and aims at "immediate and effective protection of the victims and the reduction of the consequences" of the disaster, reported EFE.

Visit of the affected area

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro flew over the area covered by an avalanche of mud caused by the collapse of dikes in a mine. On board a helicopter, Bolsonaro observed the situation in the city of 39,000 inhabitants, partially covered by the quagmire, according to Ansa.

The president has formed a crisis committee composed of several ministers with whom he will meet Saturday at Cofins airport in Belo Horizonte, the capital of Minas Gerais.