At least 9 dead, 300 missing in Brazil dam collapse disaster
Aerial view showing firemen looking for people in heavy machinery (L and R) and a locomotive (C) after the collapse of a dam which belonged to Brazil's giant mining company Vale on January 25, 2019. PHOTO | DOUGLAS MAGNO | AFP
What you need to know:
The death toll was expected to rise, as rescue teams scoured through the disaster zone overnight into Saturday.
The Minas Gerais government statement said 427 people had been working at the Vale mine at the time of the dam collapse, and 279 were recovered alive.
The disaster recalled trauma from a 2015 dam break in a different part of the same state of Minas Gerais, in Mariana, in which 19 people died.
Brumadinho's municipality issued an alert on social media warning residents to move away from the Paraopeba river that the dam had been holding back.
