In what is being described as a "catastrophic" accident, at least 17 people have reportedly been killed, with at least 45 still missing as a dam collapsed in the southeastern Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, leveling the town with a resident count of 620. The total number of dead and injured will not be known until rescues and evacuations are completed by officials. RT is reporting that sniffer dogs are being utilized to search for survivors. (The number of fatalities differ from report to report as victims are still being found, the number used in this was obtained from the RT article)
According to the Google Translated article at G1Globo.com, "The director of the Union of Workers in the Iron and Metals Extraction Industry Basic Mariana (Metabase), Valerio Vieira dos Santos said that between 15 and 16 people have died and 45 are missing, but there is still no official numbers of victims."
The dam burst close to a working mine owned by Samarco mining company who admits that due to this tragic accident, toxic waste has been leaked in what is being called the worst dam burst in the country's history. Carlos Eduardo Ferreira Brito, Environmental Prosecutor of Minas Gerais’s Public Ministry, described the accident as “catastrophic.”
