Brazil Charges 21 People With Homicide in Samarco Mining Dam Collapse
October 20 2016 - 2:29PM
Dow Jones News
By Paul Kiernan
BELO HORIZONTE, Brazil -- Brazilian federal prosecutors filed
homicide charges Thursday against 21 people in connection with a
catastrophic dam collapse last year that killed 19 people.
Those charged include current and former officials of mining
giants Vale SA and BHP Billiton Ltd. and their joint-venture
Samarco Mineração SA. Among them are former Samarco Chief Executive
Ricardo Vescovi, Vale's current iron-ore director Peter Poppinga,
and five Vale and BHP officials who sat on Samarco's board in
recent years.
The individuals were further charged with crimes of causing a
flood, landslide and grave bodily harm. In addition, Vale, BHP and
Samarco were charged with 12 different kinds of environmental
crimes.
If convicted, the individuals could face sentences of between 12
and 30 years in prison for the crime of "qualified homicide."
The individuals couldn't immediately be reached for comment.
Vale, BHP and Samarco didn't immediately comment on the
charges.
The charges mark the end of a criminal investigation after
Samarco's Fundão tailings dam collapsed on Nov. 5, 2015. Believed
to be the biggest disaster of its kind in the world, the incident
released a torrent of red sludge that washed away villages,
displaced hundreds of people and traveled more than 400 miles
through southeast Brazil's Rio Doce basin before reaching the
Atlantic Ocean.
A judge must accept the charges for a trial, which would take
place before a jury, to begin.
In addition to the criminal case, Brazilian federal prosecutors
in May filed a civil lawsuit against Vale, BHP, and Samarco seeking
155 billion reais ($49 billion) in damages.
Write to Paul Kiernan at paul.kiernan@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 20, 2016 14:14 ET (18:14 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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