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Brazilian officials on Sunday halted the search for hundreds of people still missing as a result of a mudslide triggered by a dam that broke out when there was fear of a second breach in the dam.
The firefighters have instead shifted their efforts to evacuate more residents from the southeastern city of Brumadinho, warning that a second dam, also owned by the Vale mining company, was at risk of entering.
At least 37 people were confirmed dead after the Friday dam explosion, which caused a landslide on hundreds of miners working for lunch. About 250 employees of the mine are still missing and it is feared that they will be dead.
Brazilian judicial authorities have frozen about $ 3 billion worth of Vale mining giant's badets since Friday. The company has also been hit multiple fines while it is under scrutiny for regulatory violation and pollution as a result of the disaster.
The accident recalls a similar disaster in 2015, when another mining dam collapsed in the same state of Minas Gerais, killing 19 people. This dam was also administered by Vale in conjunction with Australian mining company BHP Billiton. The collapse of the dam in 2015 released millions of tons of toxic iron waste for hundreds of kilometers, causing what is considered the worst environmental disaster in Brazil.
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