BHP BHP Group Limited

By John Lyons 

MARIANA, Brazil--In the aftermath of the world's biggest mining-dam break, family members of the disappeared held grim vigils for their missing loved ones while people in villages dozens of miles away from the mine continued the backbreaking work of shoveling away tons of muddy waste.

Aline Ferreira Ribeiro, the wife of a missing mine worker, said, "I am holding on to hope that he is somewhere, in an air pocket in the mud or somewhere in the woods."

Her husband, Samuel Viera, was last seen on Thursday by colleagues jumping into a pickup truck to escape the deluge, she said. The mud caught up with the truck and carried it downstream.

On Thursday afternoon, two giant dam-works burst at an iron-ore mine whose operator is jointly owned by Australia's BHP Billiton and Brazil's Vale SA. The dam breaks sent some 62 million cubic meters of muddy mining waste cascading down through a string of poor mountain villages.

On Monday, authorities said they had recovered another body from the mud, bringing the total confirmed dead to four. There are some 25 missing, three less than previously announced, reflecting the positive identification of a body and the discovery of two believed missing among survivors housed in local hotels.

State prosecutors issued a statement on Monday urging the mine's operator, Samarco Mineração SA, to move quickly to aid victims, including those left homeless and families of the disappeared. Company officials say they are helping to fund search and cleanup efforts, and have found temporary housing for hundreds of homeless in hotels.

The extent of the damage raises questions about the future of Samarco's iron-ore operation in Minas Gerais state, where two of the mine's three waste-containment dams burst. The mine has ceased operations for now. On Monday, a state environmental official said he would challenge any new relicensing of the project.

Fitch Ratings on Monday put a negative credit watch on four classes of Samarco debt. The ratings agency cited concerns about lower iron-ore production following the accident, as well as the potential for the company to be hit with regulatory, legal or environmental penalties. If "the cause of the breach was due to a technical error, the penalties could be more punitive," Fitch said.

Samarco officials have declined to talk about the future of the mine and have said in two news conferences that their efforts are focused on aiding victims. Samarco's President Ricardo Vescovi declined several requests for interviews.

The powerful flow of mud left a path of property destruction scores of miles long through Minas Gerais, discoloring a big river. Experts say the mud stain in the river will soon reach a neighboring state and could reach the sea.

Towns hit by the torrent of mud are attempting to clean up. In Barra Longa, a cobble-stoned colonial town with a three-century-old church, men with hoes worked alongside trucks and tractors to remove thick pools of mud from streets and homes. Workers used sledge hammers to bash drainage holes in walls of homes to release mud that reached 5 feet high.

Andrea Luiza Vasconcelos, a mother of two, said the first floor of her home was swamped with mud, destroying everything from furniture to photos. Her children were sent to live with relatives while she and her husband clean up. She said the company aid so far wasn't adequate.

"They gave us a bag of food, but we have nowhere to cook it," she said.

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 09, 2015 17:43 ET (22:43 GMT)

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