Rescuers search deep mud for hundreds missing after Brazil waste dam collapse

Brazilian firefighters and Israeli rescue workers moved carefully Monday over treacherous mud, sometimes walking, sometimes crawling, in search of survivors or bodies, four days after a dam collapse that buried mine buildings and surrounding neighbourhoods with iron ore waste.

The confirmed death toll rose to 65, with 279 people still missing, according to the fire department in the southeastern state of Minas Gerais, where the tailings dam for a Vale mining operation is located.

The death toll was expected to grow "exponentially" on Monday after no one was found alive Sunday, the department said. That stood in contrast to the first two days of the disaster, when helicopters whisked people out of the mud.

Search efforts were extremely slowbecause of the treacherous sea of reddish-brown mud that surged out when the mine dam breached Friday afternoon. It's as much as eight metres deep in some places. To avoid the danger of sinking and drowning themselves, searchers had to carefully walk around the edges or slowly crawl out onto the muck.

Rescue teams Monday morning focused their searches on areas where a bus was immersed and the company cafeteria, where many workers were eating lunch when the dam ruptured.

At the scene of the disaster, helicopters looking for bodies took off and landed nonstop. On the ground, dozens of rescuers with tracking dogs were searching for bodies through the mountains of mud.More than 100 Israelis equipped with specialized rescue technology joined the 200 Brazilian firefighters in the search.

Rescue efforts had been suspended for about 10 hours Sunday because of fears that a second mine dam in the southeastern city of Brumadinho was at risk of failing. An estimated 24,000 people were told to get to higher ground, but by afternoon civil engineers said the second dam was no longer at risk.

Areas of water-soaked mud appeared to be drying out, which could help firefighters get to areas previously unreachable. Still, it was slow going for the search teams, and residents were on edge and some started searching on their own for relatives.

A Catholic priest for a church now being used as a command centrefor rescuers said many of his parishioners are believed to be buried in mud.

"It's going to be difficult to rebuild our hearts," said the priest, Rene Lopez. "It's an open wound for all of the people in Brumadinho."

'Running and screaming'

And there was mounting anger directed at Vale, the area's largest employer, amid questions aboutan apparent lack of a warning siren ahead of Friday's collapse.

"The company didn't take care of the people," said Josefa de Santos, who has friends and neighbours among the missing. "I heard the cries of people asking for help, everyone was running and screaming. The siren didn't go off at all, it was horrible."

In an email, Vale told The Associated Press that the area has eight sirens, but "the speed in which the event happened made sounding an alarm impossible" when the dam burst.

SenatorRenan Calheiros called for Vale's board of directors to step down, and Attorney General Raquel Dodge told reporters that Vale executives could be held responsible.

Hope evaporating

"I saw all the mud coming down the hill, snapping the trees as it descended. It was a tremendous noise," said a tearful Simone Pedrosa, from the neighbourhood of Parque Cachoeira, eight kilometres from where the dam collapsed.

For many, hope was evaporating.

"I don't think he is alive," Joao Bosco said of his cousin Jorge Luis Ferreira, who worked for Vale. "Right now, I can only hope for a miracle."

The carpet of mining waste also raised fears of widespread environmental contamination and degradation.

According to Vale's website, the waste is composed mostly of sand and is non-toxic. However, a UN report found that the waste from a similar disaster in 2015 "contained high levels of toxic heavy metals."

Company's assets frozen

Vale SA is the world's largest producer of iron ore, the raw ingredient for making steel. Over the weekend, courts froze about $3 billion from Vale assets for state emergency services and told the company to report on how they would help the victims.

Vale, which owns mining interests in Ontario, Manitoba and Newfoundland and Labrador, is bracing for the financial impact of the disaster.

Its American depository sharesplunged 18 per cent Monday on the New York Stock exchangeon fears of liability costs. Its stock, listed in Brazil, also plunged. Dividends for shareholders have been suspended, as have managers' bonuses.

Another dam administered by Vale and Australian mining company BHP Billiton collapsed in 2015 in the city of Mariana in Minas Gerais, causing 19 deaths and forcing hundreds from their homes.

Considered the worst environmental disaster in Brazilian history, that disaster left 250,000 people without drinking water and killed thousands of fish. An estimated 60 million cubic meters of waste flooded nearby rivers and eventually flowed into the Atlantic Ocean.

Sueli de Oliveira Costa, who hadn't heard from her husband since Friday, had harsh words for the mining company.

"Vale destroyed Mariana and now they've destroyed Brumadinho," she said.

'What will happen?'

Other residents quietly noted that Vale was the main employer in the area.

"The company is responsible for a new tragedy, but it's the principal employer," said Diego Aparecido, who has missing friends who worked at Vale. "What will happen if it closes?"

Environmental groups and activists said the latest spill underscored the lack of environmental regulation in Brazil, and many promised to fight any further deregulation.

Marina Silva, a former environmental minister and presidential candidate, toured the area Sunday. She said Congress should bear part of the blame for not toughening regulations and enforcement.

"All the warnings have been given. We are repeating history with this tragedy," she told the AP. "Brazil can't become a specialist in rescuing victims and consoling widows. Measures need to be taken to avoid prevent this from happening again."