Manager at Brazil’s Vale told executives of risks at dam: report

FILE PHOTO: A helmet with a logo of Vale SA is seen in a collapsed tailings dam owned by the company, in Brumadinho, Brazil February 13, 2019. REUTERS/Washington Alves/File photo

February 26, 2019

RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) – A manager at Brazilian iron ore miner Vale SA told authorities the firm’s executive board knew there had been a “decrease in security” at a dam that burst in January, killing hundreds, according to a newspaper report on Tuesday.

The manager told authorities he had discussed the dam with his superiors, newspaper Folha de S.Paulo reported, without saying how it obtained the information.

Vale did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In the month since the dam burst in the town of Brumadinho, likely killing over 300 people, prosecutors and media have raised questions about the security measures that were in place to prevent such a burst. Earlier in February, Reuters reported that internal Vale documents showed the dam had an elevated risk of rupture.

The newspaper report did not name the manager or give further details on his or her testimony.

(Reporting by Gram Slattery; Editing by Bernadette Baum)

Source: OANN