Brazil’s federal police have indicted mining companies Samarco, Vale and VogBR and seven of their executives for a dam burst that caused Latin America’s biggest environmental tragedy on record.
They are accused of negligence that started a mudflow of 850 kilometers (530 miles) in waterways of two Brazilian states.
Samarco is a joint-venture of mining giants Vale and BHP Billiton.
Among those indicted are Samarco’s CEO, geology experts and an engineer who issued a document in July of 2015 saying that the dam was stable.
In a statement released Wednesday night, Samarco disagrees with the decision saying there is no conclusion on what caused the burst on Nov. 5.
Filed Under: Infrastructure