Brazil’s Latest Quagmire

The mines gouged out of the nearby hills never sullied the bucolic feel of Bento Rodrigues. The tiny town by a gurgling river in central Brazil benefited from the mines, first when the Portuguese dug for gold and now when the Chinese buy iron ore for their steel mills. The open pits and the sea of sludge, held back by massive earthen dams, were out of sight of the town’s colonial-era homes and church.

All that changed at about 4:20 p.m. on Nov. 5. Jose do Nascimento de Jesus was home making guava juice when he heard what sounded like a hailstorm. A neighbor shouted, “Run! The dam broke!” A tsunami of sludge was barreling down the valley. De Jesus and other townspeople screamed for Darci dos Santos to flee with her 7-year-old grandson, Tiago, but the two couldn’t be roused from their nap. As mud swallowed a nearby house, De Jesus headed to high ground. The town was gone in minutes. A helicopter pulled Dos Santos out of the mud. Rescuers found Tiago’s body six days later, more than 60 miles downstream. Ten others died; a dozen are missing; five of every six townspeople are homeless.