The mining company that caused the dam accident that killed 19 people in Brazil in 2015 is sued in record amount. In order to restore the damage after one of Brazil's worst environmental disasters, the Australian-British company is required almost 5 billion dollars.
The lawyers representing the victims believe that the mining company neglected the risks and acted "extremely careless".
- The company acted too slowly and ignored the repeated warnings that female experts informed the company, says Tom Goodhead, co-owner of the British law firm SPG.
The law firm represents 235,000 Brazilians who sued the mining company BHP Billiton before the Liverpool court. The lawyers suggest that there was greed behind the environmental disaster.
- The company was worried about reduced revenues due to the falling world market price of iron ore and had increased production. They chose to close their eyes to the dangers that led to deaths and destroyed communities, says Tom Goodhead.
The dam accident occurred in the state of Minas Gerais on November 5, 2015. It caused 19 casualties as the mining company's dust broke and poisonous clay masses from the iron ore extraction drowned the village of Bento Gonçalves.
The clay slurry, which contained heavy metal residues, ran into the Rio Doce river which supplies drinking water to 230 Brazilian municipalities. All fish died and even the endangered sea turtles, which lay eggs where the river meets the Atlantic, were hit. Over 700 people were forced to move from their homes.
