Catastrophe in Brazil: 58 dead, 305 missing, further research
The provisional toll of the Brumadinho disaster in southeastern Brazil has risen to 58 dead and 305 missing on Sunday, and research resumed after a suspension due to fears of a break-up of a second mine dam.
There are currently "58 dead" and "305 missing persons, this number has increased because families who were not on the initial list have been registered," Lt. Col. Flavio Godinho told reporters. -special defense of the State of Minas Gerais, responsible for organizing relief.
In addition, the number of dead "will certainly increase", a bus with an undetermined number of bodies inside having been discovered, said this spokesman.
The previous provisional official report was 37 dead and 287 missing.
On Sunday, the people traumatized by the break of Vale's mining dam on Friday awoke in panic at the sound of sirens warning of the risk of another mining dam breaking, an alert that was later lifted.
"There is no longer a risk of rupture," said Lieutenant-Colonel Godinho. "Research has already resumed, by helicopter, on land and with dogs," he added.
"As long as we have not removed the last body, we still have hope of finding survivors, even though we know that the more time passes, the harder it will be," said a spokesman for the fire department.
The court has also decided to block 11 billion reais (three billion dollars) on the accounts of the Brazilian mining giant, as reparations for human and environmental damage, for the rupture of one of the three dams of the Corrego do Feijão mine in Brumadinho, located 60 km from the state capital of Minas Gerais Belo Horizonte.
On Sunday, Vale said it had activated the alarms after "sensing a rise in water levels in Dam VI", which is part of the same mine.
At 5:30 in the morning, the loudspeakers shouted, "Attention, general evacuation of the area, seek to reach the highest places of the city. Emergency evacuation.
"We saw a lot of people running out, desperate, and hearing the speakers say that another dam could break," said AFP Fagner Miranda, a 29-year-old plumber.
"Those who did not have a car left on foot, with backpacks, carrying everything they could. There were children, elderly people, "he added.
The approximately 3,000 evacuees were allowed to return home, but most remained on guard.
Tile and framing pile
The mining dam broke on Friday morning for a reason still unknown.
"When the dam broke, we ran to the heights and saw our house totally engulfed by mud. It went very fast, "says Lauriane Oliveira da Souza, who lost everything in the tragedy.
"If we had not left quickly, we would be dead. Afterwards, I knelt, I cried and thanked God because my family was alive, "she adds, looking at her car half buried in the mud, below her House.
About 2 kilometers from the second dam that threatened to give way, the remains of a disemboweled house offer a spectacle of desolation in Parque da Cachoeira.
Clusters of interlocking tiles and roof framing are littered with an inverted sideboard, a sofa, an idyllic seaside painting, a balustrade that has burst into shock, and blooming decorations. paper.
In front of the ruin lies an immense river of mud, some 300 meters wide, which has also devastated all the vegetation in its path.
Israeli help
The state of Minas Gerais had already been bereaved in 2015 by the break-up of another mining dam near Mariana, 120 kilometers from Brumadinho, which left 19 dead and caused an unprecedented environmental disaster in Brazil. This dam also belonged to Vale, in joint ownership with Anglo-American BHP.
"Vale has been inconsistent and incompetent. We thought they would have learned from Mariana, but three years later, it is our city that is bruised, "the mayor of Brumadinho rebelled.
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who flew over the area on Saturday, announced on Sunday on Twitter that an Israeli army delegation was coming to help the local authorities.
The Israeli team, 130 men and 16 tons of equipment, arrived in Belo Horizonte on Sunday evening and will begin Monday to participate in the research.
A spokesman for the fire department explained that it would bring sonar devices capable of locating bodies at a great depth.