Brazil orders mudslide mine to take emergency measures

Brazilian authorities investigating the deadly collapse of a mine-waste reservoir last week have ordered mining firm Samarco to take emergency measures to deal with the catastrophic aftermath, prosecutors said Tuesday.

The company, a joint venture between Australian mining giant BHP Billiton and Brazil's Vale, has been issued a court order requiring it to collect and preserve evidence related to the dike failures that triggered the tragedy, said prosecutors in the southeastern state of Espirito Santo.

The measure is aimed at ensuring victims can obtain compensation for the environmental and human damages the disaster is causing in the state, prosecutors said.

The firm must also provide a helicopter for an indefinite period of time to inspect areas of the state affected by the nearly 60 million cubic meters (two billion cubic feet) of ochre sludge. Samarco will face a daily fine of 50,000 reals (about $13,000) if it fails to comply.

At least four people were killed and around 20 are missing after the mud and mining waste burst through the retaining walls at an iron ore mine Thursday and buried most of the nearby village of Bento Rodrigues, in the state of Minas Gerais.

More than 600 people were left homeless, and fears are mounting that the sludge, which has flowed into local rivers, could contaminate the water supplies of more than half a million people in Minas Gerais and neighboring Espirito Santo.

Authorities in Minas Gerais have ordered Samarco to halt operations. The company has put 85 percent of its employees in the two states on paid leave.

The sludge, which has already flowed 400 kilometers (250 miles), is expected to reach Espirito Santo on Tuesday.

Caption: A chicken walks amid the debris in Bento Rodrigues district after a dam burst, in Mariana, Brazil

Photo: Reuters