iStock/LSP1982(MINAS GERAIS, Brazil) — At least 60 people are dead and at least 292 people have been reported missing after a dam collapsed in Brazil on Friday.
Eight of the 58 bodies have been identified, a spokesperson for the southeastern state of Minas Gerais said Sunday. There are still 305 people missing as a torrent of water and mud slammed into Brumadinho, in southeastern Brazil.
More than 260 Vale mining company employees are among the missing, a spokesperson said on Saturday. It’s unclear how many have since been rescued. Vale employees were eating lunch on Friday afternoon when the dam collapsed.
A spokesperson for firefighters in Brazil’s Minas Gerais state said Monday that 192 people have been rescued so far. Twenty-three people have been hospitalized, a spokesperson said.
Rescuers have been digging through mud to find survivors.
“Part of the Vila Ferteco community has also been affected,” the mining company said in a statement. “Rescue and care of the wounded is being carried out on site by the Fire Department and Civil Defense. There is still no confirmation as to the cause of the accident.”
“The top priority of the company right now is to support the rescue efforts and to help preserve and protect the lives of direct employees, third-party employees and local communities,” the statement added.
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