The Latest: Workers from Brazilian, German firms detained
The Latest on the deadly collapse of a dam at a Brazil iron ore mining collapse (all times local):
1:15 p.m.
A German company involved in the inspection of the dam that collapsed in Brazil last week says two of its employees have been arrested in the country. Brazil’s Vale SA also says three of its employees were also arrested.
The Munich-based TUEV company Sued declined to specify Tuesday whether the arrested staff were from its German headquarters or its Brazilian branch.
Vale in a statement provided no details about the company workers who were arrested except to say that it is cooperating with the investigation into the iron ore mine tailings dam breach that killed at least 65 people and left nearly 300 missing.
TUEV Sued said Monday that it had conducted a periodic review of dams for Brazilian mining company Vale SA in July 2018 and a regular inspection of dam safety in September last year.
The collapse last Friday flooded parts of the small city of Brumadinho with reddish-brown mud and iron ore mining waste. Many more are still missing.
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12:50 p.m.
Shares of Brazilian mining company Vale are making a muted comeback after they plunged following the collapse of an iron ore mine dam that killed at least 65 people.
Vale SA’s American depository shares were up 3.5 percent Tuesday to $11.59 a share on the New York Stock Exchange.
The company’s shares tanked nearly 18 percent on Monday, three days after the dam collapsed in the southeastern state of Minas Gerais.
The breach sent rivers of mud inundating Vale company buildings and nearby neighborhoods in the small city of Brumadinho.
Rescuers on Tuesday were spending a fifth day looking for survivors and bodies. Some families began burying dead relatives amid growing outrage directed at Vale.
The company is the world’s largest producer of iron ore, the raw ingredient for steel.
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12:40 p.m.
Brazilian authorities issued arrest warrants Tuesday for five people in connection with a dam collapse that killed at least 65 people as it plastered part of a city with reddish-brown mud and iron ore mining waste.
The orders were issued in Sao Paulo and in the state of Minas Gerais, where the collapse happened. They came as rescue crews began a fifth day searching for survivors or bodies, and some families began burying their dead.
Local media reported the warrants included three employees of Vale, the mining company that owned and operated the waste dam that collapsed.
In a statement, Vale said it was collaborating with authorities in the investigation.
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