BHP Billiton and Vale bosses ‘overcome’ by Brazilian mine disaster devastation

The bosses at the centre of a storm over one of Brazil’s worst-ever mining disaster today said they were “overcome” by the devastation left by the catastrophe.

BHP Billiton chief executive Andrew Mackenzie and Vale boss Murilo Ferreira toured the Germano iron-ore mine owned by its Samarco joint venture, almost a week after dams holding mineral waste at the site burst.

At least eight people are dead and a further 21 missing, but the toxic mudslide virtually wiped out the small village of Bento Rodrigues and has contaminated water supplies for miles around in the state of Minas Gerais.

In a joint statement, the two bosses, who have established a $100 million (£65.8 million) emergency fund as a first step, said: “We were overcome when we saw the devastation in and around Bento Rodrigues.

“We cannot rebuild the lives of the families who have lost loved ones but we redouble our commitment to Samarco to support the response effort,” they added.

But both are likely to face huge fines from the Brazilian authorities and Samarco has acknowledged it was expanding the first dam when it burst — work needed due to higher output from the mine.

Investigators are also probing reports that Vale contributed to higher water volumes by sending waste from one of its nearby mines to Samarco’s dam system.