Brazil dam collapse update: 34 killed, hundreds missing
New Delhi : In a tragic accident in Brazil on January 25, close to 34 people's dead body has been recovered by the rescue operators. As per source, more hundreds are missing and the rescue mission is underway.
Hundreds of people went missing and feared dead under a sea of mud after a tailings dam burst at an iron ore mine owned by Vale SA. The accident killed at least 34 people and and halting mine operations. The dam ruptured releasing a torrent of mud that tore through the miner's offices and cut through a nearby town, leaving a roughly 150 meter wide, stretching the destruction for miles.
The Minas Gerais state fire department confirmed the death toll and mentioned that 23 people had been sent to hospitals. Some 250 people remained missing, according to a list released by Vale.
The rescue team hopes for finding survivors on a bus, a train, office and nearby homes that were buried after the dam break at Vale's Corrego do Feijao mine in Minas Gerais state.
"Unfortunately, at this point, the chances of finding survivors are minimal. We're likely to just be recovering bodies," Romeu Zema, governor of Minas Gerais, told local media.
During a news conference, Zema said the mining complex had all its permits in order and it is not clear why the dam collapsed drastically.
Meanwhile, the National Mining Agency ordered Vale, the world's largest producer of iron ore, to halt operations at the Corrego do Feijao mine, located near the town of Brumadinho.
Further, it is expected that the death toll will rise sharply. Israel offered to send search equipment that could be used to find victims in up to 10 meters (33 feet) of mud, Zema said. Search dogs were being flown in from Rio de Janeiro to aid in the rescue efforts.
