Dam bursts at Brazil mine, submerging homes and killing at least 17

A dam burst Thursday at a mining waste site in Brazil, unleashing a deluge of thick red toxic mud that smothered a village and killed at least 17 people, an official said.

More than 50 more were injured in the disaster in southeastern Minas Gerais state, said Adao Severino Junior, fire chief in the city of Mariana.

The number of missing looks set to surpass 40 but this is not official yet, he added.

A statement from the city hall of Mariana, a city of about 40,000 people 185 miles north of Rio de Janeiro, said the dam ruptured at 4:20 p.m. in an area more than 12 miles from the city center. Residents living in an area downhill from the dam were told to evacuate to higher ground.

Rescue teams searched for survivors or bodies into the night. 

The Civil Defense agency of Minas Gerais state said one body had been recovered but officials had yet to determine how many people were missing.

Police, firefighters and local officials said they could not confirm any reported death tolls or victims.

Authorities said the dam was built to hold back water and residue from mining operations, a mixture that can often be toxic. The dam was holding tailings, a mining waste product of metal filings, water and occasionally chemicals. It was located near the Gualaxo do Norte River, adding to fears of potential water contamination.

Images from Globo TV showed the area of the operation overrun with water and clay-red mud, with large vehicles tossed on their sides.

A small cluster of homes and about 400 people live in the small town of Bento Rodrigues, about just over 4 miles beneath the dam that burst. Images showed the town flooded with mud and water.

The Samarco mining company said in a statement on its website that it was making “every effort to prioritize care to people and mitigate damage to the environment.”

“It is not possible at this moment to confirm a cause … nor if there are victims,” it added.

Samarco is jointly owned by Brazilian mining company Vale and Australia's BHP Billiton. According to Bloomberg, Vale is the world’s biggest iron-ore producer, and BHP is the largest mining company.

“Most of what happened there has been under the cloak of darkness,” BHP Billiton Chief Executive Andrew Mackenzie told reporters in Melbourne. “At daybreak, clearly we will do an awful lot more and give you further updates.”

Wire services