Six months after a deadly dam collapse in Brazil, new evidence has emerged that suggests the disaster could have been prevented.
Investigators believe there’s evidence the German company that certified the structure as safe knew it was vulnerable to collapse.
Nearly 300 people died when the collapse triggered a mudslide near the south-eastern town of Brumadinho.
A prosecutor and lawmaker say German firm Tüv Süd is failing to co-operate.
They complain the company’s lack of co-operation is affecting their inquiries.
The BBC has seen emails that show Tüv Süd’s own analysis of the dam initially failed to meet official requirements.
The company declined an interview.
The dam at Brumadinho collapsed in a matter of seconds on 25 January. A torrent of toxic sludge rushed down the valley, engulfing everything and everyone in its path.
There was no warning. Sirens designed to warn of such a scenario didn’t go off.
Downstream, workers who had just sat down to lunch in the mine’s canteen, would have had little chance to escape.
At his home, in the hills above the mine, Aramaio describes how his sister, a dinner lady, was serving food in the canteen when it was destroyed by the mudslide.
Her remains have never been found. His sister-in-law was also killed.
“We are devastated,” he says. “We feel destroyed.”
The clear-up is still going on and even now they’re finding bodies here.Prosecutors have many questions for the mine’s owner, Vale, but they have also focused on the role of the German company that inspected the dam in the months before the collapse.
Tüv Süd is a household name in Germany and a byword for safety.
The inspection company was founded well over a century ago, offering safety checks on steam engines.
Step into a lift these days and you’re likely to see its distinctive blue and white logo. It inspects and certifies all manner of goods and services – including annual vehicle tests.
And it has exported its reputation internationally, carrying out inspections all over the world.
