At least five people were killed, nine injured and 13 others missing, after the collapse of two residential buildings Friday morning in the Muzema slum community, a poor area in west Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The residents of the two collapsed buildings, having four and six floors respectively, moved in just six months ago.

Civil defense personnel evacuated residents of the nearby buildings for fear that more buildings are facing the risk of falling.

It was not raining when the collapse occurred, but the Muzema area was deeply affected by the recent storms which hit Rio earlier this week, killing 10 people and causing severe damages.

The neighborhood’s main streets were still flooded and residents were isolated by Friday morning, though the storm occurred on Monday.

According to the city government, the buildings were irregular constructions without the permission of the mayor’s office and the city authorities had tried to demolish them, but a court order prevented the demolition.

The Muzema community is controlled by violent mob-like militia groups, which control everything in the area, from property rights to security and cooking gas distribution. The two buildings are likely to have been built by the order of those groups.

It is estimated that in the same community there are about 60 residential buildings built irregularly, without the official permits for construction and sales. (REUTERS)

Tags: Accident, Brazil, Building collapse, Rio de Janeiro

Firefighters and other rescuers worked on Monday (January 28) to uncover a bus they presume is filled with people who perished in Friday’s (January 25) disaster, in which a burst tailings dam sent a torrent of sludge into a miner’s offices and the Brazilian town of Brumadinho.

Firefighters laid down wood planks to cross a sea of sludge that is hundreds of meters wide in places, to reach the bus and search for bodies inside. Villagers discovered the bus as they tried to rescue a nearby cow stuck in the mud.

Firefighters on Monday (January 28) confirmed 60 people killed by the disaster. Nearly 300 more people are unaccounted for, and officials said it was unlikely that any would be found alive.

The disaster at the Corrego do Feijao mine in southern Brazil occurred less than four years after a dam collapsed at a nearby mine run by Samarco Mineracao SA, a joint venture by Vale and BHP Billiton, killing 19 and dumping toxic sludge in a major river.

While the 2015 Samarco disaster unleashed about five times more mining waste, Friday’s dam break was far deadlier as the wall of mud hit Vale’s local offices, including a crowded cafeteria, and tore through a populated area downhill. — Reuters

Tags: Brazil, dam burst, disaster

 Rescuers in Brazil rescued animals from a trail of destruction left behind by a dam collapse in Brazil, as emergency officials resumed the search for hundreds of missing people.

The dam burst at Vale’s Corrego do Feijao mine in southeastern Brazil unleashed a torrent of mud on Friday (January 25), burying the mining facilities and nearby homes in the town of Brumadinho.

Nearly 300 people are still missing, with the list of those unaccounted for being constantly updated, Godinho told reporters. Most of those lost are presumed dead, officials said.

Firefighters are going through empty homes in search of survivors, rescuing animals left behind.

Fears about another dam burst in Brumadinho on Sunday (January 27) triggered evacuation sirens in the town before dawn, but by afternoon officials said there was no risk and the evacuation was called off.

The cause of the dam burst remained unclear. Recent inspections by a German auditor TUV SUD and Vale did not indicate any problems with the dam, the companies said. — Reuters

Tags: Brazil, dam burst, disaster