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Brazil Dam Collapse: Hundreds Missing after Mining Disaster:
As many as 200 people are missing after three dams operated by the mining giant Vale collapsed in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, releasing a wave of red mining waste and prompting fears of widespread contamination.
At least 50 people died in the disaster on Friday, Avimar de Melo, mayor of the nearby town of Brumadinho told the Hoje em Dia newspaper. "We don't have any more details because it's all happening very quickly," he said.
Brazilian television showed images of survivors being winched to safety by a helicopter after the disaster at the Feijão mine near Brumadinho, less than two hours from the state capital, Belo Horizonte.
Among those missing were 100 mine workers who were having lunch in an administrative area when it was hit by a torrent of sludge and water, said a fire brigade spokesman, Lieutenant Pedro Aihara.
"Our main worry now is to quickly find out where the missing people are," Aihara said on GloboNews cable television channel.
Videos shared on social media showed houses buried in the mud and local media reported that the nearby Inhotim outdoor art complex had been evacuated though not affected.
The dam collapse came less than four years after Brazil's worst environmental disaster was caused by the failure of a tailings dam at Mariana in the same state. That dam was operated by Samarco, which at the time of the disaster was half-owned by Vale.
"I don't have words to describe my suffering, my enormous sadness, my disappointment in what has just happened. It is beyond anything you can imagine," Vale's CEO, Fabio Schvartsman, said in an address on YouTube.
He said the company had made an "enormous effort" to make its tailings dams safe after the Mariana disaster. "The whole of Vale will do whatever is possible to help the people affected," he said.
Also at BBC and U.S. News & World Report.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by MostCynical on Saturday January 26 2019, @04:09AM (12 children)
awful for those who have died or been left homeless; alas, entirely predictable.
Free market, yay! Safety margins costing too much? Cut back, make sure operating costs are minimized! Profits and dividends are where it is at! No need for government oversight, or even regulations! Free market forces will ensure safety!
"I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Arik on Saturday January 26 2019, @04:23AM (8 children)
Literally never said; other than as a straw man.
The contention you object to is that they will do better than any alternative system at balancing safety with productivity.
If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?
(Score: 2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 26 2019, @04:32AM (1 child)
I've come to the conclusion that no one who even brings up "free market" or "capitalism" knows the meaning of those words. To them they both mean some version of crony-corporatism/socialism.
If we look up these companies, what do we find:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samarco [wikipedia.org]
Yep, so the corporation will never be held fully responsible for their failures and will act accordingly.
(Score: 5, Informative) by hemocyanin on Saturday January 26 2019, @04:34AM
Some murders get the death penalty or long prison sentences. Other's get bonuses.
(Score: 2, Disagree) by fustakrakich on Saturday January 26 2019, @04:48AM (5 children)
To contend there's a balance to strike speaks volumes, revealing a great deal of sociopathy. Besides, this, like most "accidents", was due to corruption, and resistance means extermination.
La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
(Score: 1, Troll) by Arik on Saturday January 26 2019, @05:02AM (4 children)
Resources are finite, goods are rivalrous. Spend every penny possible on safety and you'll have none left for food, your baby will starve, and you not much later. Of course there's a balance! How privileged must one be not to know that? To imagine that your life has infinite value!?!
I am speechless before your sheer hubris.
If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?
(Score: 3, Touché) by fustakrakich on Saturday January 26 2019, @05:05AM (2 children)
Spend every penny possible on safety and you'll have none left for food, your baby will starve, and you not much later.
Ah yes, you mentioned something about strawmen... Mildly amusing you are...
La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
(Score: 1, Troll) by Arik on Saturday January 26 2019, @05:14AM (1 child)
If you can't see that you must have someone else paying for an extravagant lifestyle.
If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?
(Score: 0, Troll) by fustakrakich on Saturday January 26 2019, @06:53AM
It's a not a strawman
Of course, not when you do it... S'alright, man. You go with what works. I'm hip to the routine...
La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 26 2019, @03:33PM
Hey, moron, you should read what the person wrote until you understand it in your thick skull.
That was never said. So your entire rest is just strawman argument.
https://www.google.com/search?&q=strawman [google.com]
Quoted for you, since you probably have problems understanding links too.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by iru on Saturday January 26 2019, @09:55AM (1 child)
What the hell are you saying? Brazilmarket has extremely burdensome marketregulations. If anything is to blame are collusion’s between government and mining companies and that doesn’t sound free market at all. Please get a grip.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by MostCynical on Saturday January 26 2019, @10:22AM
So, we have some demanding *less* regulation, whih patently doesn't work
We have others demanding more regulation, which only works if there is effective enforcment and minimal corruption.
"Market forces" include corruption.. Selling out is still selling.
More corruption seems to lead to larger numbers of lives lost when things go wrong (or "right"- look at lead in fuel)
"I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
(Score: 2) by canopic jug on Sunday January 27 2019, @06:25PM
awful for those who have died or been left homeless; alas, entirely predictable.
That's just the beginning. It was not water the dam was holding back.
Money is not free speech. Elections should not be auctions.