Brazil indicts Samarco, Vale for massive environmental disaster

Brazil's federal police announced on Wednesday that mining companies Samarco and Vale, consulting company VogBR and seven Samarco's employees will be indicted for the collapse of two tailings dams last November, which caused casualties and colossal environmental damages.

Located in Mariana, Minas Gerais state, the two dams were owned by Samarco. Vale is one of Samarco's owners, while VogBR was the company responsible for a report assuring that the dams were stable and not at risk of collapse.

The seven indicted executives and technicians include Samarco's CEO Ricardo Vascovi. The others were directly involved with the operations of the collapsed dams.

The indictees are being accused of harming human health, killing animals and undermining ecosystems through pollution. According to Brazil's Environmental Law, such crimes are punishable with huge fines and up to five years in prison.

The collapse occurred on Nov. 5, when the iron ore and sludge from the dams formed tons of toxic mud which destroyed an entire residential neighborhood in Mariana, leaving 17 people dead, two missing and hundreds of others homeless.

The mud damaged other neighborhoods before reaching the most important river in the region, the Doce River, and destroyed its fauna.

It then flowed 800 kilometers to the Atlantic and caused more environmental damages, as well as problems in water distribution for a number of towns and putting fishermen out of work. Endi