A huge dam burst in Brazil, on Saturday, swamped a city in thousands of tonnes of red sludge – killing at least seven people and leaving 200 missing.
Parts of Brumadinho have been evacuated while firefighters launched dramatic helicopter rescues to save survivors stranded on their roofs.
Local TV channel TV Record showed a helicopter hovering inches off the ground as it pulled people covered in mud out of the waste.
The flow of waste – from a nearby mining operation – reached the nearby community of Vila Ferteco.
Josiele Rosa Silva Tomas, president of Brumadinho resident’s association, said: “I’ve never seen anything like it.
“It was horrible … the amount of mud that took over.”
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Silva Tomas said she was awaiting news of her cousin – and many people she knew were trying to get news of loved ones.
Seven bodies had been recovered by late Friday, according to a statement from the governor’s office of Minas Gerais State.
Vale CEO Fabio Schvartsman said he did not know what caused the collapse – which took place while around 300 employees were working.
About 100 had been accounted for, and rescue efforts were under way to determine what had happened to the others.
Mr. Schvartsman said: “The principal victims were our own workers.”
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.
Schvartsman said what happened Friday was “a human tragedy much larger than the tragedy of Mariana, but probably the environmental damage will be less.”
There were no official reports of deaths, but the state fire department told The Associated Press that about 200 people were missing.
The company said it did not have any further information.
President Jair Bolsonaro said: “We will take all the possible steps to minimise the suffering of families and victims.” (TheSun.co.uk)
