A dam holding back mining waste in the Brazilian city of Brumadinho collapsed Friday, forcing the evacuation of 100 Vale workers, with another 200 still missing.
The mayor of the community said later that about 50 people are likely dead as a result of the collapse.
The company's website says the incident took place Friday afternoon local time at Dam 1 of Vale's Feijão Mine. Many residents have also been evacuated as emergency workers deal with the crisis.
“The company deeply regrets the accident and is making every effort to provide relief and support to those affected,” the post said.
The tailings have reached the administrative area, Vale said, where employees were working, meaning victims were likely Vale employees.
Rescue and care of the wounded is being carried out on site by the local fire department and civil defense forces.
“There is still no confirmation as to the cause of the accident,” Vale said. “The top priority of the company right now is to support the rescue efforts and to help preserve and protect the lives of direct employees, third-party employees and local communities.”
The Associated Press reported Friday the area has been flooded with reddish-brown sludge, with only rooftops of several buildings still visible.
Vale CEO Fabio Schartzman is quoted in the story as saying about 300 employees were working when it happened. About 100 had been accounted for, “and rescue efforts were under way to determine what had happened to the others.
“The principal victims were our own workers,” Schartzman told a news conference Friday evening. He said a restaurant was buried by the mud at lunchtime.
A story by the BBC Friday evening quoted the mayor of Brumadinho as saying seven bodies have been recovered so far, and at least 50 people have been killed.
Another dam administered by Vale and Australian mining company BHP Billiton collapsed in 2015 in the city of Mariana in Minas Gerais state, resulting in 19 deaths and forcing hundreds from their homes.
Considered the worst environmental disaster in Brazilian history, it left 250,000 people without drinking water and killed thousands of fish. An estimated 60 million cubic meters of waste flooded rivers and eventually flowed into the Atlantic Ocean. Vale ended up paying a US $1.8 billion fine.
Schartzman said what happened Friday was “a human tragedy much larger than the tragedy of Mariana, but probably the environmental damage will be less.”
