Brazil Dam Collapse: Vale disaster echoes dam tragedy from three years ago

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The recent dam disaster in Brazil devastated a community. It also prompted the government to promise inspections and safety measures across the country. But there's a growing sense of fear for those living close to similar mining dams. CGTN's Paulo Cabral visited another city which experienced a tragedy just a few years ago.

The colonial city of Congonhas, in Minas Gerais, is home to some of Brazil's best examples of 18th-century baroque art and architecture, attracting scores of visitors. But people here also live with a constant threat right over their heads: a massive dam owned by mining and steel-making company CSN.

PAULO CABRAL CGTN "CSN's Casa de Pedra Dam, that you can see behind me, holds about 50 million cubic meters of mining waste. That's around four times more than Vale's Corrego do Feijao dam which burst in Brumadinho last week. The potential for damage and loss of life here is also much bigger because this dam sits right above densely populated areas."

In 2017, CSN had to fix leaks in the dam following a demand by the city's district attorney who now says the company is complying with safety standards. But about three-thousand people who live in the neighborhood right underneath the dam, who've been complaining for years about the risks are especially scared.

MARIA ELZA RETIREE "No one from the company gives us proper information. They lie to us. We are running a risk and we could die at any moment, just like it happened in the Brumadinho disaster."

This nurse's house is right behind the dam.

"I think that God sent us a warning. Do something now because it will happen to you, too!"

The city's mayor agrees there's a reason for concern but he says that after the Brumadinho disaster, he heard a commitment by CSN to dismantle this dam. The mining company declined to comment.

ZELINHO DE FREITAS CONGONHAS MAYOR "I think this is the biggest mining dam inside an urban area in the world. I don't know of any other. It's utterly absurd that the state government licensed the construction of this dam 15 years ago."

Minas Gerais authorities have now suspended all licensing related to the enlargement or construction of mining dams while new federal safety regulations are reviewed.

GERMANO VIEIRA, SECRETARY OF ENVIRONMENT MINAS GERAIS STATE "It's important that we have these new rules so public authorities will have the strength to enforce the laws. Right now, we can't be frivolous and say there is a risk of a new accident. But we can't say there's significant risk either."

Congonhas was built on the riches of gold mining in the state of Minas Gerais centuries ago. Now it's the iron ore that plays an important part in the city's economy. But the fear of those living here is that mining could also destroy it. Paulo Cabral, CGTN, Congonhas, in Minas Gerais, Brazil.