Destruction of the environment and more victims in Brazil following the mining disaster in Brumadinho: up to 134 dead and 199 missing

In the absence of knowing the total number of casualties, ten days after the collapse of Vale SA's iron ore dam, the number of confirmed deaths rose to 134, with 120 corpses identified and even 199 people disappeared under the mud, badess the damage that has already reached the waters of the Paraopeba River, affecting the local population and indigenous communities.

Lieutenant Pedro Aihara, a spokesman for the Minas Gerais Fire Department, said Monday's activities could mean that the rescue operations could be closed without all the bodies of the 199 missing persons being recovered. . "Unfortunately, some will not be recovered," said the spokesman of the fire department.

"People are working as fast as possible to find as many people as possible [de cuerpos]. Only, obviously, because of the characteristics of the tragedy and the biological situation of the decomposition, some organizations believe that, unfortunately, it will not be possible to recover it, but we are working to reduce it to a minimum, "said the lieutenant .

Thus, he warned members of the family that the operation could end without all the bodies of the missing 199 being found.

Due to heavy rains in the city since this morning, mud searches were suspended and 400 firefighters searched the banks of the Paraopeba River.

Meanwhile, the environmental damage is enormous in Brumadinho, one of the worst human and ecological tragedies in the country. "It's a death bubble," says the coordinator of the SOS Atlantic Forest Foundation, Malu Ribeiro, the location of the river, destroyed by the mud and debris trail that buried the city and, with it, several ecosystems of one of the world's largest biomes in terms of biodiversity.

"There is a devastating silence in the water, the forest destroyed, not even a bird is heard.You enter a death bubble, a smell of already decomposing matter, animals and fish, Here we can feel death, "Ribeiro explained in statements to EFE.

According to preliminary data from the Brazilian Institute of the Environment (Ibama), the avalanche of mud caused by the collapse of a dam of mining giant Vale was destroyed on the last day 25 destroyed to date, about 270 hectares , of which 190 are football native vegetation of the Atlantic forest.

The disaster exceeds the human tragedy, which has left 134 dead and 226 missing, according to the latest report published Sunday by the fire department of Minas Gerais (southeast), which continues the search for the ninth day.

The mud and toxins that contain the mineral residues also inhumarise a number of species of native flora and fauna in an "irreparable" environmental damage and whose total magnitude will only be known in a few years, explained Ribeiro.

Rescue and survival in danger

"On the 45 kilometers that we have already collected, the river is completely dead.The badyzes showed a zero level of oxygen, the main bioindicator of clbadical life," he said.

"It can not even be considered water, it's like I was in a nightmare, a déjà vu, because I thought I would never see this level of destruction again. ", added Ribeiro, who also worked on the disaster that occurred three years earlier in the city of Mariana, when the rupture of the dams of another dam, also of Vale, claimed the lives of 19 people and destroyed the Doce River basin.

Nine days ago, Brumadinho, which had about 34,000 inhabitants, was home to one of the richest and most diverse biomes on the planet. Now, in this "death bubble", said the coordinator, the "shuddering silence" is only broken by the noise of the helicopters.

Some of the videos revealed show the exact moment of the dam breaking, in which it is seen as an avalanche of mud swallowing instantly several people trying to escape in cars, tractors or even on foot.
In the midst of this "unreal" and "criminal" scenario, more than 500 people working in the search and rescue services are deploying their energy and physical integrity day after day in order to find the victims, recover the bodies and find signs of life. , less and less likely.

This is the case of veterinarian Laiza Bonela, who commands a team of 30 professionals focused on rescuing animals still trapped in the muddy river.

A historic environmental disaster

"During the first flight in my area, my vet diagnosis was to think that no way of life could survive in this environment," Bonela said.

Once on the ground, the veterinary team was able to save more than 100 animals, including dogs, cats, birds, amphibians, cows and even wildlife.

However, many of the localized animals are "weak enough" and therefore, in most cases, need to be slaughtered.

Online, the coordinator of the emergency response team of the Brazilian Institute of the Environment (Ibama), Marcelo Amorim, badured EFE that "c & # 39; is undoubtedly one of the greatest environmental tragedies in the world ", although it is still" very difficult "to make a" precise "projection on the necessary recovery time.

"In case of loss of life (Brumadinho), the number of missing persons could exceed 300 deaths," said Amorim.

If the estimate is confirmed, it would be the largest mining barrage disruption tragedy of the last three decades, since, according to a UN report last year, the worst This type of disaster dates back to 1985. A mudslide buried two cities in northern Italy and killed 268 people.

Source: Red O Globo (G1), EFE, El Público, El País Brazil

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