'Nothing can bring a life back': Brazil dam collapse survivors speak as UK trial begins

“The past words I heard him accidental were, ‘Did you cognize that you are the champion mum successful the world?’”

Gelvana Rodrigues’s son, Thiago, was 7 years aged erstwhile toxic mud flooded into their location and killed him.

He was 1 of 19 radical that died aft the Mariana dam illness successful Minas Gerais, Brazil connected 5 November 2015.

It is remembered arsenic the worst ever biology catastrophe successful Brazil.

The dam was owned by Samarco, a associated task betwixt the mining giants Vale and BHP.

It was utilized to store discarded from robust ore mining. When it burst, it unleashed tens of millions of cubic metres of toxic discarded and mud.

The sludge swept done communities, destroying hundreds of people’s homes and poisoning the river.

Gelvana was astatine enactment erstwhile the catastrophe happened, portion her lad was staying astatine location with his grandmother.

After she heard the news, she ran backmost to find “everything destroyed”.

“I spent 3 days not eating oregon sleeping, I conscionable wanted to find my son,” she said.

After 7 days, she heard that rescuers had recovered Thiago’s body.

“That time my beingness ended, due to the fact that I lived for him.”

Gelvana is 1 of the 620,000 radical who are taking BHP to tribunal successful the UK implicit the disaster.

A civilian proceedings opening successful London connected 21 October volition find whether the Anglo-Australian institution was responsible.

The claimants’ lawyers argued successfully that the proceedings should beryllium held successful London due to the fact that BHP office “were successful the UK astatine the clip of the dam collapse”.

If BHP loses this case, a 2nd signifier volition instrumentality spot to find who is entitled to further damages payments, and however much.

A abstracted proceedings against Samarco’s 2nd genitor company, Brazilian mining institution Vale, is taking spot successful the Netherlands, with astir 70,000 plaintiffs.

Both companies person agreed that if either is recovered liable for damages, they volition divided the costs.

Marcos Muniz, known arsenic Marquinhos, moved to 1 of the towns that was deed - Bento Rodrigues - successful 1969, erstwhile helium was six years old, to the aforesaid location wherever his begetter was born. Later, arsenic an adult, helium built his ain location connected immoderate much onshore his begetter had bought there.

Marquinhos worked for Samarco for astir 30 years earlier helium retired. He had livestock, pigs, and orangish trees that helium looked guardant to tending to successful retirement.

“I ne'er imagined this could happen,” helium said. “If I had known that successful the aboriginal this would happen, that the spot and the assemblage wherever I was raised would beryllium destroyed, I would decidedly person stopped moving there.”

Bento Rodrigues present resembles a shade town. The houses prevarication successful ruins and are inactive covered successful heavy mud. Marquinhos’s location was washed into the adjacent lake, and lone the precise extremity of it is present visible.

BHP and Vale person acceptable up an organisation called the Renova Foundation tasked with compensating victims.

It has offered them either currency compensation, oregon a location successful a caller metropolis that the instauration has built to regenerate this municipality called Novo Bento.

The Renova Foundation says it has disbursed much than $7.7bn (£5.9bn) successful repair and compensation actions to date, to much than 445,000 people, with astir 50% of that being paid straight to affected people.

But the companies accidental this does not mean they judge liability for the disaster.

The assemblage were fixed a accidental successful wherever the metropolis was built, and the plan of their caller homes.

Marquinhos has been offered a location determination but fears, successful this modern city, his mode of beingness and assemblage volition beryllium lost.

The caller metropolis is inactive being constructed. It is up connected the hills, arsenic opposed to down by a lake, and it has a much modern, municipality consciousness to it.

Darliza das Graças moved determination a twelvemonth ago. She owned a tiny barroom successful the “old” Bento Rodrigues and runs a edifice now.

“Life present is wonderful, it’s good. But astatine the opening it was precise difficult, determination were fewer residents,” she said.

“Now they are coming, it’s overmuch better.”

More than 100 radical person been resettled determination truthful far, but – 9 years connected – determination are inactive immoderate who person not yet moved successful due to the fact that their location is not ready, oregon due to the fact that they person chosen not to.

While Darliza is blessed here, she says she preferred her aged beingness due to the fact that “the assemblage determination was much united”. Not everyone from her aged assemblage has chosen to unrecorded here.

BHP and Vale contradict claims of liability successful their entirety and reason the UK ineligible enactment is “unnecessary arsenic it duplicates matters already covered by the existing and ongoing enactment of the Renova Foundation and different ineligible proceedings successful Brazil”.

All companies progressive accidental they stay “committed” to repairing the harm caused. BHP and Vale person made a caller connection to the Brazilian government, expected to beryllium signed connected Friday, to wage retired much than 170bn reais ($45bn) successful compensation.

Samarco added the Renova Foundation has compensated 18 of the 19 families of victims who died and proceed to interaction families and lawyers successful cases that person not been resolved.

Fernanda Lavarello, caput of firm affairs astatine BHP Brasil, said: “What happened successful 2015 was a tragedy. We are atrocious astir what happened. Since then, BHP ne'er abandoned the state and is doing everything it tin to repair the situation and beingness of those families.”

“Some processes are taking longer than expected, due to the fact that it is rather complex, but for the families that chose rapidly to person their houses built here, their houses are ready, and they person already moved in.”

The UK ineligible lawsuit against BHP began successful 2018 erstwhile residents and immoderate section companies and authorities decided to question what their lawyers picture arsenic “fair and afloat compensation” for the harm suffered.

The claimants’ lawyers – Pogust Goodhead – reason BHP is liable due to the fact that Samarco was a “legal entity for their accumulation of Iron Ore and BHP were operationally successful power of the institution and their decisions. This means that BHP knew oregon ought to person known erstwhile cardinal decisions were made which resulted successful the illness of the dam.”

If they win, they expect that the compensation could scope $44bn (£34bn) successful what has been described arsenic 1 of the largest corporate biology lawsuits successful the world.

For some, similar Marquinhos, this is astir trying to person much compensation than antecedently offered, truthful that helium tin spend to rebuild his beingness successful a spot of his choosing.

For some, nary magnitude of wealth tin compensate for what they lost.

“Nothing tin bring a beingness back,” Gelvana says astir her lad Thiago. “There is nary wealth successful the satellite that tin bargain a life. I conscionable privation justness truthful that nary parent volition beryllium sitting present successful the aforesaid spot arsenic me.”