Samarco dam: BHP Billiton, Vale say only one dam, not two, burst in Brazil

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Samarco dam: BHP Billiton, Vale say only one dam, not two, burst in Brazil

By Lia Timson
Updated

The company at the centre of one of Brazil's worst-ever environmental disasters has revised its assessment of the accident that caused a torrent of mud to destroy nearby towns and polluted the region's largest river.

Samarco officials now say only one and not two dams, as earlier advised, burst on November 5. That breach unleashed a massive wave of mud, debris and water that practically wiped out the nearby hamlet of Bento Rodrigues, contaminated a river that's the source of water for residents of two states, and devastated aquatic life. Samarco Mineiracoes is owned jointly by Australia's BHP Billiton and Brazil's Vale.

The company said only the Fundao dam burst, the second largest of a complex of three dams near Mariana, Minas Gerais. The much smaller Santarem dam only "overflowed" but its mineral deposit mass was still contained.

A third - and the largest - the Germano dam is being monitored and shored up along with Santarem after slips were found by investigators.

A rescue worker walks between destroyed houses in the town of Bento Rodrigues after the Fundao dam burst in Minas Gerais, Brazil.

A rescue worker walks between destroyed houses in the town of Bento Rodrigues after the Fundao dam burst in Minas Gerais, Brazil.Credit: AP

Klebber Terra, the director of operations at the Samarco mine in the south-eastern state of Minas Gerais, said blocks of rocks were being used to reinforce the two dams, reported G1, the website of the Globo television network. Mr Terra told a news conference that the work would take up to three months, G1 said.

"We are very sympathetic and distraught about what happened. We work with the best dam monitoring technicians but we cannot say that this tragedy could have been avoided," Mr Terra said in comments carried by O Estado de S.Paulo newspaper.

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The state fire department has identified seven people who died in the disaster. Four bodies await identification and 12 more people are missing.

The company has already been fined R$250 million ($92 million) by Brazil's environmental agency IBAMA. Separately, on Tuesday, it agreed with Brazilian federal and state prosecutors to pay a preliminary deposit bond of R$1 billion for urban and environmental repairs and compensation.

Rescue workers take a rest from their search for victims at the town of Bento Rodrigues, after a dam burst on November 5 in Minas Gerais state, Brazil.

Rescue workers take a rest from their search for victims at the town of Bento Rodrigues, after a dam burst on November 5 in Minas Gerais state, Brazil.Credit: AP

It is also facing a civil lawsuit brought on Monday. Pedro Eduardo Silva, a lawyer representing a community association in another state, filed the case, according to the Minas Gerais court website. He's demanding Samarco Mineracao pay R$10 billion as compensation for environmental damages.

Mr Silva, who is based in Bahia, said Brazilian law allows him to file a case in another state, according to Bloomberg.

Rescue workers walk at the site where the town of Bento Rodrigues stood.

Rescue workers walk at the site where the town of Bento Rodrigues stood.Credit: AP

with AP, Bloomberg

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Sandra Maria adjusts her daughter's hair band at a hotel housing people displaced by the Samarco dam failure, in Mariana, Minas Gerais, Brazil.

Sandra Maria adjusts her daughter's hair band at a hotel housing people displaced by the Samarco dam failure, in Mariana, Minas Gerais, Brazil.Credit: Felipe Dana

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