Complexo Alegria/Samarco is an open pit, iron ore mine located in Brazil. The website reported that numerous 200 homes in the village had been covered with mud.
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Most of the village’s inhabitants work for Samarco, jointly owned by BHP Billiton of Australia and Vale of Brazil.
The Minas Gerais dam burst happened in darkness so the extent of casualties and damage was not immediately clear. Thus far, it is feared that the dam burst has possibly claimed the lives of at least 15 people.
There are an estimated 400 residents in the nearby village of Bento Rodrigues.
The structure that failed is a tailings dam, used to hold water and discarded minerals from a nearby iron-ore mine. Images showed the town flooded with mud and water.
He warned that more than 40 people could be missing. Dams bursting at mines are more likely in places with significant rainfall and landslides, he said.
A lawyer specialising in environmental and mining cases said it was too early to estimate the financial setback for the mining companies, since the cause of the disaster was still unknown.
Civil defense authorities could not confirm casualties and said numbers reported in Brazilian media were speculative.
Prosecutors in Brazil have already opened a criminal investigation into the incident. Samarco issued a statement saying the waste is not toxic and contains mostly silica.
The company added that it informed authorities, with response teams on-site to provide assistance.
Resident Joaquim Teofilo Dutra said a loud noise was the first sign residents had that something was wrong.
Rescue worker Denir Ubaldo Monterio said neighbors banded together to escape the mudflow.
Dams in the mining industry are “hazards we all have to accept to a few degree”, Ali said. “When the firefighter helicopter arrived, the mud was still coming down”.
Homes and vehicles were submerged by mudslides in the village of Bento Rodrigues, close to the city of Mariana and a few 300 kilometres (185 miles) north of Rio de Janeiro. Others were sent to area hotels. Numerous survivors had injuries to their feet, sustained after they fled their houses barefoot and trekked through the devastated terrain and then onto scorching asphalt. “There is a risk of bodies not being found”.
The president of Samarco, Ricardo Vescovi, said the company was “mobilising absolutely all necessary efforts” to help people struck by the disaster.
Analysts at Clarksons Platou Securities said on Friday that the likelihood of a lengthy stoppage at the Germano mine, which accounts for about one-fifth of seaborne pellet market, could lift iron ore prices.
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The company has four dams that it said were inspected in July and were confirmed to be safe. “Our focus is on assuring people’s safety and protecting the environment”.
