Tailings dam failure kills three workers

At least three mine workers are dead after a tailings collapse in Brazil.

According to a report by EM Digital (written in Portuguese), rescue personnel were called to the accident early on Wednesday in Itabirite, the central region of Minas Gerais

The military were called to the accident around 7:50 a.m. and worked for four hours to rescue buried miners. The Municipal Secretary of Environment, Antonio Marcos Generoso, confirmed that three are dead in the slide. Another was transported to João XXIII Hospital in Belo Horizonte.

Officials did maintenance at this dam early in the morning when the accident happened. A large amount of waste was released on top of vehicles and workers. A truck driver, a bulldozer with operator and a Fiat Uno with the driver were all buried. Firefighters worked by hand to try to find them.

Workers on the site are being accounted for and the dam is being monitored.

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