Print

Nobody was injured and there was no risk of flooding of communities near the Pau Branco mine near Nova Lima, in the mineral-rich state of Minas Gerais in southeastern Brazil, fire service spokesman Pedro Aihara told reporters.

“It was a dike for the containment of rainwater,” he said, dismissing press reports that a tailings dam might have burst. “There was no structural problem.”

The BR-40 highway, a major transport route that links Rio de Janeiro and Belo Horizonte, was blocked in both directions.

Vallourec confirmed that a dike had overflowed. “This is not a dam collapse,” the company said in a statement.

Heavy rainfall has fallen in the area and in other regions of Brazil in recent days. In the northeastern state of Bahia, at least 20 people died in severe flooding.