Environmental disaster in Brazil: the death toll rises to 150 after the bankruptcy of the mining company Brumadinho and Justice Vale in the spotlight of tragedy

The Civil Defense of the State of Minas Gerais yesterday reported the number of victims of the rupture of the Vale SA mine dam at Bean Stream, in Brumadinho, in the metropolitan area of ​​Belo Horizonte. Until Wednesday (6), 150 bodies were saved, of which the police identified 134 dead; while 182 people are still missing under the mud, said Lieutenant-Colonel Flávio Godinho.

Meanwhile, Major Flávio Santiago, spokesman for the military police in Minas Gerais, said six people had been arrested since the dam broke: two for illegal operation of drones in the tragedy area, two for attempted Invasion in the inclined area and two strokes brought to obtain benefits.

At the same time, the news that had an impact yesterday on Brazilian justice was confirmed by a Brazilian judicial investigation according to which Vale would have been made aware of Brumadinho sensor problems two days before the dam broke with toxic sludge, according to the Brazilian Federal Police.

In an exclusive overview of the TV Globo (G1), published the evidence of the judge of justice in which it is demonstrated that there was an exchange of emails between business professionals and staff related to the safety of the dam. In statements to justice, the detained engineer stated "to have felt pressured" when signing the Dam Stability Statement.

During his testimony, the engineer Makoto Namba reported a meeting with officials of Vale about the technical opinion of stability of the dam signed by him.

Namba said that a Vale official, Alexandre Campaña, had asked him: "Will TÜV SÜD sign the declaration of stability or not?"

Namba told PF that he had replied that "the company would sign the award if Vale adopted the recommendations indicated in the periodic review of June 2018", but also signed the document.

According to him, although this reply was given to the campaign, the declarant considered that the sentence was pronounced in the same way and qualified in this term as "means of putting pressure" on the declarant and TÜV SÜD for that reason. they sign the statement of stability condition risk of losing the contract ".

Vale issued a press release in a press release stating that "on the second working day of the closure of the dam, documents and e-mails were voluntarily handed over to the public prosecutors and the federal police. will refrain from commenting on the details of the investigation form to preserve the factual investigation by the authorities, "says the text of the note.

The tragedy put the mining company in check, which invoked a case of force majeure a day after a judge forced it to suspend some operations and canceled the mining company's permit allowing it to 39, operate two mines. One of them is the Brucutu mine (Brazil), a measure that he believes would result in a production loss of 30 million metric tons. A Brazilian court order has been issued to improve safety after the fatal collapse of one of Vale's tailings dams in the state of Minas Gerais.

Vale's inability to meet its supply contracts could cause a leap ahead of the steelmaking ingredient, in a market already worried after the company's previous announcement that it would reduce its production of 40 million tonnes while attempting to reinforce storage dams. minors. Iron ore prices reached $ 10 per metric ton in Singapore since January 25, when the dam broke.

The closure of the Brucutu mine, the largest in Minas Gerais, could "eliminate" almost all of the expected global growth for the steel ingredient, said Ian Littlewood, Barclays badyst, in a recent publication. The economy today.

Technicians have noticed failures and alerted Vale

Globo TV also had access to the testimonies of two engineers from the outsourced company TÜV SÜD, André Jum Ybaduda and Makoto Namba, responsible for the stability of the dam.

Lawyers Augusto de Arruda Botelho and Brian Alves Prado, who defend the engineers, refrained from making comments to the press.

Ybaduda and Namba were arrested by the federal police last week. On Tuesday (5), the Superior Court of Justice (STJ) ruled that you had been released, as a precaution, from the five people arrested on January 29, accused of falsifying documents related to the safety of the dam. It broke out Tuesday in Minas Gerais and has already made 150 dead and 182 missing.

In the ruling, Judge Nefi Cordeiro, an instructor, said that the two engineers of the German company Tüv Süd and the three employees of the mining company Vale, owner of the dam that collapsed "have already testified in court ".

The court also noted that "searches were carried out" at the accused's home and that it was not found that they could offer "any risk" to society according to an official statement.

In his statements, the Federal Police delegate Luiz Augusto Nogueira, interviewed by the engineer Namba, spoke about the existence of e-mails exchanged between officials of Vale, TÜV SÜD and Tec Wise, another committed company. by Vale.

The messages that began to be exchanged on January 23 at 2:38 pm and lasted until 3:05 pm the next day begin to give clues as to what would have happened. The dam broke out on January 25th.

In the questions, the delegate indicated that the subject of the messages "refers to divergent data obtained by reading automated instruments (piezometers) dated 10/01/2019, installed on the B1 dam of the CCF, as well as on failure of 5 (five) automated piezometers.

However, the testimony does not include details about the messages. The engineer says he only learned about the changes to the data provided by the sensors after the dam broke.

After reading the messages for him, Namba was asked about "what would be his providence if his son worked at the dam site?" According to the federal police, Namba replied that "after confirmation of the readings, he would immediately call his son to evacuate from the place as well as the Vale emergency department responsible for the operation of the PAEBM. . [Plan de Acción de Emergencia de Represas de Minería] for the appropriate measures. "

They will continue with the search for victims

The search for bodies in the Mud River will continue on the thirteenth day of the tragedy on Friday, January 25. Lieutenant Pedro Aihara, spokesman for the Minas Gerais Fire Department, said that "more than 400 men were still working and that there was no end date." The last bodies were found in the locker room and on the mine parking lot. Firefighters are using more heavy machinery and deep excavations in this area, "he said.

Aihara warned that "families should not consider false news or rumors that searches can end at any time." The rain changes the work plan, but the weather forecasts are also monitored for research, which will continue in the same way. "

Rain impedes aerial work, visibility and stabilization of structures. "This Thursday, there will be a meeting with the company's general commander to evaluate the search techniques, but until now, there is no cash-work reduction forecast," he said. said the manager.

Tragedy numbers

150 confirmed deaths – 134 identified

182 faded away

192 saved

392 situated

Source: TV or Globo, G1, Economy Today

PE