Brazil: at least eight dead as toxic mudslide engulfs mining village

A torrent of mud unleashed by a dam burst at an iron ore mine in south eastern Brazil is contaminating the Atlantic Ocean.

Minas Gerais, Brazil. Image by Senado Federal / CC BY 2.0

The deadly stain of red mud, water and debris from the November 5 burst at the Samarco mine in the Minas Gerais state wiped out a small village in the area, killing eight people – with another four bodies still unidentified and 11 missing.

The mud flowed downstream into the Doce River, where it devastated wildlife and compromised the drinking water source for hundreds of thousands of people.

The stain flowed through the neighbouring Espirito Santo state, reaching the Atlantic over the weekend.

A report in a Brazilian national newspaper said the mud had reached a sensitive nature reserve frequented by endangered turtles.

(Press Association)