Seven kiiled, 10 missing in Southern Brazil mudslide

A breach in a levee at the Samarco iron ore mine in southern Brazil has left seven people dead and 10 others missing, a report has said. Levee failure unleashed a mudslide that flooded part of Bento Rodriguez, a village about 250 kilometres north of Rio de Janeiro.

The report said that the incident saw more than 50 residents injured. It said that the damage from the levee destroyed a large portion of the village, with a population of 500. It, however, added that the city prosecutor’s office had opened an investigation into the cause of the breach.

Samarco, which lists itself as the 10th largest export company in Brazil, belongs in equal parts to the Brazilian firm, Vale, and the Australian firm, BHP Billiton.