Brazil Dam Disaster: 157 Killed, 182 Missing
Rescuers and firefighters remove the body of a victim from a pile of mud and debris, four days after the collapse of a dam at an iron-ore mine belonging to Brazil’s giant mining company Vale near the town of Brumadinho, state of Minas Gerais, southeastern Brazil, on January 28, 2019.
Mauro Pimentel / AFP
The toll from a dam collapse at a mine in southeast Brazil’s Minas Gerais state has risen to 157 deaths after nearly two weeks of searches, with 182 missing, authorities said Thursday.
Those listed as missing are presumed dead, but not yet located under the layers of muddy mining waste released when the tailings dam broke apart in the town of Brumadinho on January 25.
In recent days, rescue teams have battled rains which limited their ability to fly helicopters over the area.
Virtually all the dead and missing were workers at the iron ore mine, buried under an avalanche of sludgy mining waste when the dam collapsed above the facility’s cafeteria and main administrative area.
Share your thoughts