The dyke of a mine erupted in Brazil: 9 dead and about 300 confirmed missing

RIO DE JANEIRO – Rescue teams are working tirelessly in search of 300 people still missing after the rupture of a waste retention dam at a Vale mine in Brumadinho (State of Minas Gerais) , which dumped millions of cubic meters of water and potentially toxic mud on the area. At least nine people have died and several nearby towns have been evacuated. The state government warned that there were "minimal possibilities" to find people alive.

The latest official report released Saturday morning gave new figures. The fire department said: "We have nine dead, our data indicate that it is missing about 300". The previous balance sheet was seven dead and 150 missing.

"We will take all possible measures to minimize the suffering of relatives and potential victims, as well as environmental problems," said the president.

Jair Bolsonaro

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Immediately, the president sets up a crisis cabinet and orders the deployment of soldiers in the area to help in the work of rescue and damage control. Bolsonaro would travel today to badyze the seriousness of the situation originating from the Córrego do Feijão iron mine, located 10 kilometers east of Brumadinho and 65 kilometers southwest of Belo Horizonte, the state capital. .

The accident occurred three years after the destruction of another dam of the same company, Vale, the largest mining company in Brazil, in the city of Mariana, also in Minas Gerais. Subsequently, 50 million cubic meters of waste was dumped on the Dulce River, killing 19 people and contaminating a vast territory in Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo; It was the worst environmental disaster of the country. Although the damaged dam had a smaller volume, the mud avalanche overflowed two other dams and some 13 million cubic meters of mineral waste was spread over the Paraopeba River.

The torrent of water and mud ravaged everything in its path; he covered houses on the banks of the river and left hundreds of people isolated.

However, the administrative center of the mining complex, which had 427 workers at the time of the accident, was the most affected. Most of them had lunch at the restaurant on the site and were surprised by the flood of mud; According to the first information, the alarm sirens did not sound.

At a press conference, Vale's president, Fabio Schvartsman, pointed out that 279 employees had been rescued and said the broken dam was inactive and had not received any mineral waste for three years. As a result, the potential for pollution would be lower. . In addition, he stated that he had been inspected for the last time on January 10th.

"This time it's a human tragedy because we're talking about a lot of casualties, maybe less environmental damage," said the executive, who took office in 2017 with the slogan "Mariana never again".

Among the inhabitants of the cities near Brumadinho – where more than 1,000 people live – at least 100 people have disappeared, without the authorities having an exact figure. Until last night, civil defense teams and firefighters – who worked with helicopters – had found seven bodies lifeless, confirmed the governor Romeu Zema in a statement. Nine wounded were removed from the mud and admitted to the João XXIII hospital in Belo Horizonte; they were stable.

As soon as news of the dam break was announced, the authorities of the neighboring towns gave the evacuation order; The park of the Inhotim Institute, a renowned botanical garden-museum of contemporary art on the outskirts of Brumadinho, has been evacuated and closed. Shelters were installed in the city and a command center at a local university.

The avalanche, which in turn destroyed houses, bridges and energy towers, left without electricity much of the surrounding areas. As a precaution, the National Water Agency has sent tanker trucks to provide drinking water to the region, given the possibility that groundwater is contaminated with sub-surface water. heavy metal products.

"We have activated the crisis cabinet in Brasilia, we will stay there 24 hours a day to provide information to the population and collect data to further minimize this tragedy." After Mariana, we did not expect this to happen because it should have been a warning, "Bolsonaro said last night at Brumadinho Regional Radio.

By order of the President, his Ministers of Regional Development, Mines and Energy and Environment settled in the disaster area. His inflamed government, questioned these days by suspicions of unlawful acts committed by the mayor's son, did not want to be perceived as hesitant and slow, as was the case with Dilma Rousseff's administration for react to the Mariana accident in November 2015.

Since 2011, environmental groups have warned of the poor condition of mining waste dams in Brazil. "It is unacceptable that shortly after the Mariana accident occurs in the same region, with the same company and with the same type of operation, it is essential that the federal government opens the black box of mines for the tranquility and safety of people living near these dams, "asked the director of the campaign Greenpeace Brazil, Nilo D & # 39; Avila.

Mistakes

In the interview with Brumadinho radio, Bolsonaro spoke about it. "The issue of mining (…) I do not want to start blaming others for what's going on, but there's always something wrong," said the president, who should to have surgery the day after tomorrow that the colostomy bag that had been placed in the intestine after the attack he suffered during the September election campaign be withdrawn. It would take about 10 days to recover.

Vice President Hamilton Mourão also tried to dissociate the current public administration from the accident. "This account can not come for us, for our government, because we supposed 30 days ago that Vale is a private company, we have to investigate what happened," he said. he declares.

With the announcement of the new tragedy, Vale's stock price fell 8% on the New York Stock Exchange. to be a holiday in Sao Paulo, the biggest Brazilian stock market did not work today.