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.
Related Stories
Vale reaches $7bn settlement over deadly dam collapse in Brazil:
Vale SA reached a settlement agreement with Brazilian authorities for a dam collapse that killed 270 people and led to production cutbacks that stripped the company of the title of world's biggest iron ore producer. Its shares rose.
The deal comes two years after the Brumadinho disaster, giving affected communities a clear framework for compensation and reparations and removing a considerable legal overhang for Vale shareholders.
Vale will pay 37.7 billion reais ($7.03 billion) including cash payments to affected people and investments in environmental projects, the Rio de Janeiro-based company said in a statement. Vale estimates it will book an additional expense of 19.8 billion reais in 2020 results.
[...] The two sides come together after Vale initially presented a value of about 21 billion reais, while the state of Minas Gerais outlined 28 billion reais in material damages plus 26 billion reais in moral damages.
[...] With Vale benefiting from high iron ore prices, the Brumadinho settlement isn't expected to jeopardize any of its investment plans, according to Ativa Investimentos. Iron ore futures climbed 73% last year on strong Chinese demand.
Vale shares extended gains on the back of the news after trading was halted for more than half an hour in Sao Paulo. The stock was up 2.1% at 10:57 a.m. local time compared with a 0.6% advance for the Ibovespa.
Previously: Brazil Dam Collapse: Hundreds Missing after Mining Disaster
(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.
(Score: 3, Funny) by realDonaldTrump on Saturday January 26 2019, @04:29AM
This Dam Break is one of the wettest we've ever seen, from the standpoint of water. But President @jairbolsonaro [twitter.com] is moving very strongly on this one. Hopefully, moving to repeal the burdensome Regulations that caused this horrible disaster. We call it Red Tape. It's really done a number on our Infrastructure. And unfortunately we're seeing that in Brazil too.
And, Jair's doing so much more. He's flying to the Disaster Area. He's bringing Ministers -- so important with so many people dieing (RIP!!). And he's bringing Paper Towels. Beautiful, soft towels. Very good towels. Something I know so much about. More than anybody. And it's so inspiring. You have these people, they've lost their Home. They've lost their Family. Their Valuables -- soaked, or washed away, right? And we come in there, we have the towels. Porto Rico, I came in and there was a crowd of a lot of people. And they were screaming and they were loving everything. I was having fun, they were having fun. They said, "oh, throw them to me, throw them to me, Mr. President!" And I threw them the towels, their faces just glowed. Absolutely lit up with joy. So beautiful!
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Hartree on Saturday January 26 2019, @06:48AM
It was a good bit harder than usual to match up the photos on news sites like the BBC to the places on the map aerial view. There's just that much change. I was looking for several prominent features, and realized the mud flows had completely removed them.
The other thing that struck me was that this area is full of similar mines and this tailings reservoir was one of the smaller ones.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 26 2019, @07:46AM
FTFY
(Score: 5, Informative) by esperto123 on Saturday January 26 2019, @10:01AM
Latest news are talking about 9 confirmed dead and over 300 disappeared.
This is the second damn collapse in the region in the last 4 years, the other was the worst damn incident in the WORLD, wasn't as deadly as the one from yesterday, but basically killed a very important river and completely wasted a huge area with heavy metal contaminated sludge.
This one seems less damaging in terms of environmental impact, but the loss of life are likely to reach the hundreds, most being employees of Vale, which were in the lunch hall and administration building in the path of the disaster.
Both incidents were caused by negligence and/or incompetence, both damns had being inspected recently before breaking and both were given a good bill of health by inspectors, even being said they had one of the lowest risk when compared to others nearby, which was clearly wrong.
Vale's president said that, after Mariana (the name of the region of the first incident), they've changed the way they monitor the damns, that they had better monitoring, inspecting (including foreigner inspectors), better response plans, etc. but obviously was not enough or done by incompetent people, because the area is not geologically active and, unless two meteors unseen by anyone struck the side of both damns, this should have been seen coming!!! If you have a inspection and say that a damn is in getting in bad shape fast and it breaks before you can repair it is one thing, but if you inspect and says it is tip top and it breaks 3 or 4 months later is a combination negligence, corruption, incompetence and greed.
(Score: 3, Informative) by RandomFactor on Saturday January 26 2019, @03:35PM
В «Правде» нет известий, в «Известиях» нет правды