A Brazilian TV channel has released a video showing the moment the dam collapsed in the January 25 disaster in southwestern Brazil, with mud and waste spilling out over the mine before burying buildings downstream. Advertising Read more The video shows a torrent of sludge crushing buildings while a train snaking through the area barely avoids the approaching avalanche and a car races to a similar narrow escape. Earlier on Saturday, officials announced that the death toll from the collapse has risen to 115 dead and 248 missing. The emergency service for the state of Minas Gerais, where the disaster occurred near the town of Brumadinho, added that the search for bodies was ongoing. All those listed as missing are presumed dead, with no survivors being found over the past week. It was the second dam disaster in three years at a mine owned by Brazilian mining giant Vale. Authorities have frozen over $3 billion in company assets in anticipation it will pay damages, compensation and fines. (FRANCE 24 with AFP) Daily newsletterReceive essential international news every morning Subscribe<doc-sep>BELO HORIZONTE (Brazil) • Major Brazilian TV outlets have obtained dramatic security camera video showing the outer wall of a Brazilian dam collapsing and an avalanche of mud crushing trees, houses and cars in its path. Close-ups replayed throughout the day showed cars and people scrambling unsuccessfully to escape the dark red torrent. The images emerged as it was revealed that the deadly collapse of the dam controlled by miner Vale a week ago likely happened because parts of the sand and dried-mud structure dissolved into liquid, a state regulator said in an interview, similar to what caused another deadly mining disaster less than four years ago. With 115 people confirmed dead and another 248 missing, according to information from the rescue team last Friday evening, the tailings dam collapse in the town of Brumadinho could be Brazil's deadliest mine disaster. The burst dam at the Corrego do Feijao mine on Jan 25 has ignited intense public anger against Vale, which was co-owner of Samarco, the previous dam that collapsed. Around 2,000 people gathered in Belo Horizonte, capital of the mining-intensive state of Minas Gerais which is home to both disasters, to protest against Vale, with some saying its top executives should be jailed. "I lost three of my students," said Ms Aparecida Moreira, a teacher at a local law school. "They are dead, and we don't know where their bodies are." There were also demands for a congressional investigation. Related Story In Pictures: Hundreds missing as dam in Brazil collapses Related Story Brazil mining dam collapse hits indigenous water supply Related Story Search resumes at Brazil mine disaster site, evacuation ends Related Story Hope fades for 300 missing in Brazil dam disaster An internal study showed that the miner knew as recently as last year that some of the areas swamped with toxic mud were at risk if the dam burst, according to Folha de S.Paulo newspaper. Vale described the document as a routine disaster preparation plan required by regulators. The disaster poses a headache for the new government of far-right President Jair Bolsonaro, whose business-friendly administration must juggle public anger over the tragedy and its own desire to ease mining and environmental regulations to kick-start growth. Mr Hildebrando Neto, Minas Gerais' deputy minister for environmental regulations, told Reuters late last Thursday that all evidence suggests that the burst was caused by liquefaction, whereby a solid material such as sand loses strength and stiffness and behaves more like a liquid. Dams holding mining waste, known as tailings, sometimes collapse for this reason. Mr Neto said liquefaction caused the 2015 collapse of the Samarco dam, which led to the deaths of 19 people. The internal study reported by the Folha newspaper was dated April 18 last year, and outlined the likely impact of a collapse at the dam. It found that the mine restaurant, where many Vale workers were likely to have died, would be hit by toxic mud. The study envisaged that sirens would alert workers if the dam burst. The company has said the mud flow destroyed the sirens before they could sound the alarm. Vale said in a statement that the plan was "built on the basis of technical studies of hypothetical scenarios in the event of a breach", although it did not directly reference Folha's story. Officials with the Mines and Energy Ministry and the National Mining Agency told reporters last Friday that the cause of the rupture was still unclear. "If we had known (what the problem was), maybe this tragedy would have never happened," the ministry's mining secretary, Mr Alexandre Vidigal, said. "We are in the investigation phase and we cannot say whether the (inspection) model was adequate or not." REUTERS<doc-sep>Stunned by the tragedy, Leandro was full of questions many are asking here, some more angrily than others. How could our world have become so lacking in compassion? How could values have eroded so far that someone - working on the dam - just thought about himself?<doc-sep>
A terrifying video has emerged showing the moment the Vale mining dam burst in Brazil, triggering a huge mudslide which caused mass casualties. The video, playing in real-time, shows the frightening moments after the dam collapsed. A cloud of dust growing in size is the first sign of disaster. A driver in a white vehicle in the background can be seen frantically trying to escape as a wall of thick sludge and mud encroaches. The black and brown sea of iron ore mining waste spills out as another truck desperately speeds along the only land still untouched. But its efforts are fruitless as it and everything is eventually engulfed. At a memorial service - held eight days on from the disaster - petals were scattered over the mine to honour the victims. Civil Defence and police stood together, taking a moment to reflect on the tragedy. In Brumadinho, marchers lined the streets in protest and prayer, holding white sheets of paper with the names of those who died in the dam collapse. Gathering at a makeshift memorial they lit candles for family and friends, many whose bodies are yet to be recovered. An investigation into the collapse is underway and Brazilian authorities have arrested five people in connection to the dam failure - three who worked for Vale SA, the company that owns the dam. The death toll has risen to 115 people, but with more than 200 still missing the search for bodies buried under mud and toxic waste continues. Newshub.