"Upon my arrival, I knew that there were a lot of dead, I saw body parts": the stories of the Brumadinho tragedy

BRUMADINHO, Brazil.- The
rupture of a mining dike in

the city of Brumadinho,

in

Brazil

, left at least
nine dead and 354 missing with "minimal chances" of being found alive.

Meanwhile, in the streets of the city, hundreds of people who continue to collaborate on rescue tasks, told the newspaper
O Globo diary how they experienced the spill.

The electromechanical technician Maicon Vitor, 22, saw the destruction happen as soon as he left the dining room of the company where he works. He finished lunch and went to the locker room when he heard the dam break.

"The water and the mud have come down by dragging workshops, offices, the dining room … everything that was on the front is gone," said Vitor, who returned to the scene .

The civilian firefighter "D" – who preferred not to disclose his identity – stated that on his arrival he had found himself with a "total destruction scenario" and that he was there. 39, one of the first to enter the mining area. "I did not hear the siren.As soon as I arrived, I knew that there were a lot of dead, I could see parts of the bodies, it was a chaos complete, I knew from the beginning that there would be few survivors, "he said.

The Brumadinho Civil Defense Executive Coordinator, Gislene Zuza, confirmed that the sirens were not activated. "They were installed in early December, all the tests were done and the simulations were 95% efficient," Gislene said.

Waiting for mud

On one of the bridges where the bean stream pbades, dozens of people are still waiting for the arrival of mud. "The river was cloudy, it had sunk more than a meter and a half and the smell was something we had never seen before," said mechanic Adilson Fernandes.

For local residents, the tragedy, in addition to the uncertainty and fear of not seeing their parents and acquaintances again, also leaves them traces of the destruction of the environment. Rural growers who live near the creek are already reporting that the fish is dying.

"In the patio of my house, you could see the fish, they were big, strong and now, all dead, and if the mud reaches my land, I lose all my work," lamented rural producer Geraldo de Oliveira.

Geraldo accompanies his friend Odilon Paraguay, who is looking for news of a 36-year-old cousin who he said was in place at the time of the accident.

"The whole family is mobilized, everyone at a rescue point, their son does not know it yet and Sunday, he will be 11 years old," said Paraguay.

At the end of the day, people began to leave the scene with the certainty that the tragedy would radically change the city's routine and the lives of each and every one of them.

They know that in the coming days, they will only be responsible for confirming deaths and searching for missing persons.