Reports say at least three hundred people are missing after a dam collapsed at an iron ore mine in south-eastern Brazil.
According to officials, the break caused a sea of muddy sludge that buried the dam’s cafeteria where workers were eating lunch.
Rescue teams used earth-moving machinery at the site near the town of Brumadinho, in Minas Gerais state.
State governor, Mr. Romeu Zema, said there was little chance of finding people alive.
So far, nine people have been confirmed dead.
It is not clear what caused the collapse of the dam, owned by Brazil’s largest mining company, Vale.
The company’s chief executive Mr. Fabio Schvartsman, said only one-third of the roughly three hundred workers at the site had been accounted for.
Local firefighters also said the number of missing in the area could be as many as three hundred.
The search is being carried out by one hundred firefighters with one hundred more expected to join them.
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