A dam that burst at an iron-ore mine in south-eastern Brazil on Thursday is thought to have killed at least 15 people, devastating a nearby town with mudslides and leaving officials in the remote region scrambling to assess casualties. 
 
 Forty-five people were still missing after the disaster at the Germano mine near the town of Mariana in Minas Gerais state, a local union told the G1 news portal. 
 
 The mine is operated by Samarco, a joint venture between the Anglo-Australian mining giant BHP Billiton and the Brazilian company Vale. 
 
 Andrew Mackenzie, the chief executive of BHP, said in Melbourne: “Most of what happened there has been under the cloak of darkness. 
 
 “At daybreak, clearly we will do an awful lot more and give you further updates.” 
 
 The company would “take all steps” to ensure the safety of the workers and communities affected by the disaster. 
 
 Facebook Twitter Pinterest Cars and homes were destroyed after an iron mine dam burst in Minas Gerais state. Photograph: Oglobo 
 
 Video footage on the G1 website showed houses of a village destroyed by flood waters and clay-red mud that surged down valleys in the mountainous region. Large vehicles lay tossed on their sides. 
 
 There was no official confirmation on the total number of dead and missing. A city hall official confirmed one death and 16 injuries, adding that dozens more were still missing. 
 
 Civil defence authorities in Mariana said they were evacuating about 600 people to higher ground from the village of Bento Rodrigues, about 7km (just over 4 miles) beneath the dam that burst, which was flooded as a result of the accident. 
 
 Television footage showed dozens of homes destroyed by the mudslide. A car rested on top of a wall where the roof of a building had been ripped off. 
 
 Authorities said the flood had also reached another village further down the hill, Paracatu de Baixo, and that inhabitants there were also being evacuated. 
 
 
 
 Rescue crews continued to search the muddy waters after nightfall. Brazilian army units nearby stood ready to help the search and rescue effort and the minister of national integration, Gilberto Occhi, planned to visit the state on Friday to provide assistance, according to a note from the presidency. 
 
 
 
 Facebook Twitter Pinterest People gather at the Arena Mariana, in Mariana, after a dam burst, forcing residents from their homes. Photograph: Douglas Magno/AFP/Getty Images 
 
 Samarco said in a statement it had not yet determined why the dam burst or the extent of the disaster. 
 
 
 
 BHP Billiton said in a statement that it was “concerned for the safety of employees and the local community ... We are in the process of obtaining more details from Samarco Mineracao.” 
 
 Vale directed media questions to Samarco. 
 
 Authorities said the dam was built to hold back water and residue from mining operations, a mixture that can often be toxic. The dam was holding so-called tailings, a mining waste product of metal filings, water and occasionally chemicals. It was located near the Gualaxo do Norte river, fuelling fears of potential water contamination. 
 
 Rescue teams were searching for survivors or bodies, and residents living nearby were told to evacuate to higher ground. 
 
 
 
 Site of the burst dam in Minas Gerais state. Site of the burst dam in Minas Gerais state. 
 
 Samarco said in a statement on its website that it was making “every effort to prioritise care to people and mitigate damage to the environment”. 
 
 “It is not possible at this moment to confirm a cause,” it added. 
 
 
 
 A statement from the city hall of Mariana, a city of about 40,000 people 300km (185 miles) north of Rio de Janeiro, said the dam ruptured at 4.20pm in an area roughly 20km from the city centre. 
 
 
 
 The disaster comes as both Vale and BHP are battling a collapse in iron ore prices and a wider slump in the industry. 
 
 The Germano mine is a 50-50 joint venture between the world’s largest iron miner and the largest mining company. 
 
 Iron ore is transported down a slurry pipe to Espirito Santo in south-eastern Brazil, where it is turned into pellets. Samarco produces around 30 million tonnes per year, according to its website. 
 
 Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report. ||||| RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — A dam burst at a mining operation in southeastern Brazil on Thursday, submerging nearby homes and vehicles. Authorities said there are dead and missing but have not yet given any figures. 
 
 Rescue teams were searching for survivors or bodies, and residents living in an area downhill from the dam were told to evacuate to higher ground. 
 
 The Civil Defense agency of Minas Gerais state confirmed there were dead and missing from the dam burst — but said it could not yet give a number. 
 
 Images from Globo TV showed the area of the operation overrun with water and clay-red mud, and large vehicles tossed on their sides. 
 
 A small cluster of homes and about 400 people live in the small town of Bento Rodrigues, about 7 kilometers (just over 4 miles) beneath the dam that burst. Images showed the town overrun with mud and water. 
 
 Authorities said the dam was built to hold back water and residue from mining operations, a mixture that can often be toxic. 
 
 The Samarco mining company said in a statement on its website that it was making "every effort to prioritize care to people and mitigate damage to the environment." 
 
 "It is not possible at this moment to confirm a cause ... nor if there are victims," it added. 
 
 Police, firefighters and city officials also said they could not confirm any victims. 
 
 A statement from the city hall of Mariana, a city of about 40,000 people 300 kilometers (185 miles) north of Rio de Janeiro, said the dam ruptured at 4:20 p.m. in an area roughly 20 kilometers (over 12 miles) from the city center. ||||| The power was out, but lightning flashes illuminated the horror as villagers watched neighbors' homes vanish under a wall of mud and water, turning neighborhoods into graveyards. Survivors dug at the earth barehanded Thursday, but all they found were bodies. 
 
 Residents carry a landslide victim in Teresopolis, Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil, Thursday Jan. 13, 2011. At least 350 people have died after landslides hit early Wednesday, and 50 or more were still... (Associated Press) 
 
 A destroyed church stands surrounded by debris and floodwaters after a landslide in Teresopolis, Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil, Thursday Jan. 13, 2011. At least 350 people have died after landslides hit... (Associated Press) 
 
 A rescue worker walks among debris after landslides at Caleme neighborhood in Teresopolis, Brazil, Thursday, Jan. 13, 2011. Driving rains sent tons of rusty red earth sliding into Brazilian mountain towns,... (Associated Press) 
 
 A damaged house sits among debris after landslides at Caleme neighborhood in Teresopolis, Brazil, Thursday, Jan. 13, 2011. Driving rains sent tons of rusty red earth sliding into Brazilian mountain towns,... (Associated Press) 
 
 People walk among debris after landslides at Caleme neighborhood in Teresopolis, Brazil, Thursday, Jan. 13, 2011. Driving rains sent tons of rusty red earth sliding into Brazilian mountain towns, killing... (Associated Press) 
 
 In this photo released by Rio de Janeiro's government is seen, an aerial view of a mudslide in Teresopolis, Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil, Wednesday Jan. 12, 2011. Torrential summer rains tore through... (Associated Press) 
 
 A landslide victim lies next to debris in Teresopolis, Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil, Thursday Jan. 13, 2011. At least 350 people have died after landslides hit early Wednesday, and 50 or more were still... (Associated Press) 
 
 Rescue workers remove a body after a landslide in Teresopolis, Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil, Thursday Jan. 13, 2011. At least 350 people have died after landslides hit early Wednesday, and 50 or more... (Associated Press) 
 
 Residents cross a river as they leave their houses after landslides in Caleme neighborhood in Teresopolis, Brazil, Thursday, Jan. 13, 2011. Driving rains sent tons of rusty red earth sliding into Brazilian... (Associated Press) 
 
 In this photo released by Rio de Janeiro's government, is seen an aerial view of a mudslide in Teresopolis, Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil, Wednesday Jan. 12, 2011. Torrential summer rains tore through... (Associated Press) 
 
 Rescue workers remove a live rabbit as they search for survivors inside a home destroyed by a landslide in Teresopolis, Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil, Thursday Jan. 13, 2011. At least 350 people have died... (Associated Press) 
 
 A framed photograph of a child sits among debris near a destroyed home after a landslide in Teresopolis, Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil, Thursday Jan. 13, 2011. At least 350 people have died after landslides... (Associated Press) 
 
 It was a scene of muddy destruction in mountain towns north of Rio, where at least 381 people were killed when torrential rains unleashed mudslides in the pre-dawn hours Wednesday, burying people alive as they slept. 
 
 In the remote Campo Grande neighborhood of Teresopolis, now accessible only by a perilous five-mile (eight-kilometer) hike through mud-slicked jungle, family members pulled the lifeless bodies of loved ones from the muck. They carefully laid the corpses on dry ground, covering them with blankets. 
 
 A young boy cried out as his father's body was found: "I want to see my dad! I want to see my dad!" 
 
 Flooding and mudslides are common in Brazil when the summer rains come, but this week's slides were among the worst in recent memory. The disasters unduly punish the poor, who often live in rickety shacks perched perilously on steep hillsides with little or no foundations. But even the rich did not escape the damage in Teresopolis, where large homes were washed away. 
 
 "I have friends still lost in all of this mud," said Carols Eurico, a resident of the city's Campo Grande neighborhood, as he motioned to a sea of destruction behind him. "It's all gone. It's all over now. We're putting ourselves in the hands of God." 
 
 In the same area, Nilson Martins, 35, carefully held the only thing pulled out alive since dawn: a pet rabbit that had somehow remained pristinely white despite the mud. 
 
 "We're just digging around, there is no way of knowing where to look," he said. "There are three more bodies under the rubble over there. One seems to be a girl, no more than 16, dead, buried under that mud." 
 
 The hundreds of homes washed away in the neighborhood were turned inside out, their plumbing and electrical wires exposed. Children's clothes littered the earth, cars were tossed upside down into thickets. An eerie quiet prevailed as people searched for life. The sounds of digging, with sticks and hands, were occasionally punctuated by shouts as another corpse was located. 
 
 Conceicao Salomao, a doctor coordinating relief efforts at a makeshift refuge inside a gymnasium in central Teresopolis, said about 750 people were staying there Thursday and about 1,000 people had sought treatment in the past day. One danger she worried about was leptospirosis, a waterborne bacterial disease. 
 
 "The hospitals around here are overflowing. The army and navy are setting up field hospitals to help," she said. 
 
 "The worst is the feeling of impotence. We do what we can, but there are so many people." 
 
 Rio state's Civil Defense department said on its website that 185 people were killed in Teresopolis, 160 in nearby Nova Friburgo and 36 in neighboring Petropolis. It said about 14,000 people had been driven from their homes. 
 
 Another 37 people have died in floods and mudslides since Christmas in other parts of southeastern Brazil _ 16 in Minas Gerais state north of Rio and 21 in Sao Paulo state. 
 
 Nineteen-year-old Geisa Carvalho and her mother were awakened at 3 a.m. Wednesday by a tremendous rumble as tons of muck slid down a sheer granite rock face onto their Teresopolis neighborhood of Caleme. 
 
 The power was out, but by lightning flashes they could see the torrent of mud and water rushing just a few feet (meters) from their home _ and the remnants of their neighbors' houses that were swept far down a hill. 
 
 "We were like zombies, covered in mud, in the dark, digging and digging" Carvalho said. 
 
 "I don't even have the words to describe what I've seen," said the teen's mother, Vania Ramos. "A lot of our friends are dead or missing. There are people we may never find." 
 
 Carvalho and Ramos said they ran out of their home moments after the mudslide and joined neighbors in digging for survivors with bare hands and sticks. They quickly located a family of four who had died under the rubble of their home _ and said another neighbor's 2-month-old baby was washed away in his crib and has yet to be found. 
 
 Nearly all the homes in their neighborhood were swept to the bottom of a hill. 
 
 Only a few rescuers had managed to hike to Caleme by Thursday and they only had shovels and machetes _ not the heavier equipment needed to hunt for survivors. Residents said they had no food, water or medication, and many made the long walk for help to the center of Teresopolis, about 40 miles (65 kilometers) north of Rio. 
 
 Morgues in the cities were full and bodies covered in blankets were laid out in streets. 
 
 Officials said the area hit by slides had seen 10 inches (26 centimeters) of rain in less than 24 hours. More rain is forecast through the weekend. 
 
 Survivors across the region were seen wading through waist-high water, carrying what belongings they could, trying to reach higher ground. Many tried desperately to find relatives, though phone service was out in the region and many people were still missing hours after the rain stopped. 
 
 The floods tore out most of the steep cobblestone road leading to the Campo Grande neighborhood, creating a ravine about 16 feet (5 meters) deep and 65 feet (20 meters) wide. In many areas, pedestrians were forced to walk through muddy, slippery jungle. 
 
 President Dilma Rousseff flew by helicopter over the region Thursday and the Health Ministry said it was sending seven tons of medications, enough to treat 45,000 people for a month. 
 
 Rousseff said the destruction was an act of God _ but she also said people died because homes were illegally built in areas prone to slides. 
 
 "We saw areas in which mountains untouched by men dissolved," she told reporters in Rio after the flyover. "But we also saw areas in which illegal occupation caused damage to the health and lives of people." 
 
 Teresopolis Mayor Jorge Mario Sedlacek decreed a state of emergency, calling the calamity "the worst to hit the town." About 800 search-and-rescue workers from the state's civil defense department and firefighters were digging for survivors, but hopes were dimming. 
 
 The cost to rebuild the city of Teresopolis alone was estimated at $60 million, said the city's civil defense secretary, Flavio Luiz Castro in a report carried by the Terra news portal website. 
 
 The federal government said it was making available more than $400 million to the states affected by the rains, and officials said they would work closely with Rio de Janeiro state authorities to provide support. 
 
 ___ 
 
 Associated Press writers Bradley Brooks and Tales Azzoni in Sao Paulo contributed to this report.
– A small town in Brazil was buried in a sea of mud after a dam burst at an iron-ore mining operation Thursday, killing an unknown number of people. At least 16 people and possibly many more are believed to be missing in Minas Gerais state in the southeast of the country, where the homes in the town of Bento Rodrigues were destroyed by mud and water that had probably been rendered toxic by the mining operations, the BBC reports. Residents in the area downhill have been told to head for higher ground, reports the AP. The chief executive of mine operator BHP says most of the disaster "has been under the cloak of darkness" and "an awful lot more" will be done at daybreak, per the Guardian.