Bogota: Brazilian police on Friday arrested eight employees of the mining giant Vale following the rupture of a dam which left at least 166 people dead last month, local media reported. The detainees included two executives, two managers and four members of the technical team, according to the dailies O Globo and Folha de Sao Paulo.
They were being held in the states of Minas Gerais, Sao Paulo and Riode Janeiro.
The dam in Brumadinho in Minas Gerais burst on January 25, unleashing a sea of toxic sludge over the mining site and surrounding areas. The official death toll stands at 166, while 149 people remain missing.
“Vale informs that, on this date, the Public Prosecutors of the State of Minas Gerais triggered an operation with the goal to fulfil new warrants served for search and seizure and temporary arrests related to the dam breach of the Dam I of the Corrego de Feijao mine,” the company said in a Friday statement.
The eight will initially be held for up to 30 days.
They are suspected of having been aware of the risks at the dam and of having ignored them, the website UOL reported.
They could be charged with involvement in hundreds of crimes,including homicide and environmental crimes.
One of the executives had reportedly pressured the German certification company TUeV Sued to guarantee that the dam was stable.
Arrest warrants have also been issued for four TUeV Sued employees, according to news agency Agencia Brasil.
Several employees of the two companies had already been arrested on January 29 and released after 10 days.
“Vale will continue to support the investigations in order to determine the facts, in addition to the unconditional support to the families (of the victims),” the company said.
Meanwhile, Vale confirmed the arrest warrants and said in a securities filing it was cooperating with the investigation. — Reuters
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