A dam operated by the mining firm vale collapsed in the Brumandinho, Brazil at 15:00 (GMT) on January 25, 2019. The toxic sludge (red iron-ore waste) buried residential buildings, the mining plant’s cafeteria (hundreds of people were dining at that time), the administrative buildings and the loading terminal for trains. The fire-fighters recovered 10 bodies and the listing of Vale constituted for 412 employees and contractors who went missing. Dozens of people trapped in mud had to be evacuated through helicopters as roads were destroyed. Brazilian police arrested 8 vale employees responsible for the security and stability of the dam followed by 14 search warrants as a part of the investigation in the mining state. The arrests and search warrants targeted employees of Vale as well as employees of German auditing firm TÜV SÜD, which had certified the dam as stable. Greenpeace Brazil’s campaigns director, Nilo D’Avila, addressed that such cases are not accidents, but the environmental crimes that should be investigated, punished and repaired.
Source : The Guardian