The impressive avalanche of mud from Vale mining dam collapse (Brazil)

Railroadforums.com is a free online Railroad Discussion Forum and Railroad Photo Gallery for railroaders, railfans, model railroaders and anyone else who is interested in railroads. We cover a wide variety of topics, including freight trains, passenger and commuter railroads, rail news and information, tourist railroads, railway museums and railroad history.

pedrop

A Railfan in Brazil
Hi, a video from one of the cameras of Vale mining machines shows the impressive avalanche of mud that killed more that 350 people at Vale mining in Brumadinho, MG Brazil last Friday 25. Note the MRS railroad train accelerating to try to scape. The crew died. The leading locomotive and one MRS employee were not found until this moment.



Posted from Android

Pedro Rezende
Vespasiano, MG
Minas Gerais Railways
 
Last edited by a moderator:
What a tragedy. Do they know the cause of the mudslide?

A dam of mud from iron ore processing collapset at 1:30 PM, when most people are at the restaurant inside the plant. It is early to say what really happened, but the news says that the dam was out of use for three years and could have problems of stability
 
An article in my local paper this morning said 110 bodies have been recovered and 238 are listed as missing.
 
From the news here:

"The images that have just been shown by Rede Globo make it very clear that it was a process of infiltration of liquid - water or dense mud - which overturned Vale 's tailings dam at Brumadinho.
Not an overflow, not a crack in the embankment, but an immense stain of moisture that, for a few seconds, appears right at the base of the dam, which is 40 years from the beginning of its construction. Then its edges saw a splash of mud, fed by the "descent" of the copro dam, similar to one of the "implosions" of buildings we have seen so many times.
Almost at the center of the building, the impression is that a sheet of water or very dense tailings, underground (the dam was dry on top, with vegetation, including small trees) liquefied the earth's reservoir.
The phenomenon seems to be the same in another point, to the right of the one who looks at it, approximately on the same level as the first, although both are practically simultaneous, because everything is very fast.
It was not, therefore, a rapid accumulation of water, but a process of slow and progressive accumulation.
How such an unstable and potentially disastrous layer has formed without the detection instruments not being signaled seems to be the "mystery".
The so-called piezometers, devices used to monitor dams, measure the levels of water accumulation in deep sections of the dam and did not detect them. Were they at this depth corresponding to ancient periods? Or were they neglected because the dam had been abandoned for some time?
The video that records the fall of the dam has the equivalent importance to the "black box" of crashed airplanes.
We know what happened, we do not know why it happened and because of who happened.
And if they want to hold anyone accountable. "

Pedro Rezende
Vespasiano, MG
Minas Gerais Railways
 
Thanks for the videos. Seepage is a problem with all earthen fill dams. Two years ago there was fear the Oroville Dam in northern California was going to suffer the same fate when part of its spillway collapsed.
 
Yes, the were some guys there.


In this video, I see some people that were trapped on the face of the dam when it collapsed. If you look closely, you can see them in the circled and enhanced part of the video.
 
If you scroll all the way down past the videos, you will find detailed maps and diagrams including camera positions. They really help clarify what you are looking at in the videos.

For those of us who do not speak Portuguese, between English and Spanish you can probably decipher the most relevant parts of the text and captions.
 
Amazing to see there were any survivors. I wonder of the cow was one of the cattle that were grazing near the top of the dam when it collapsed.
 




RailroadForums.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com

RailroadBookstore.com - An online railroad bookstore featuring a curated selection of new and used railroad books. Railroad pictorials, railroad history, steam locomotives, passenger trains, modern railroading. Hundreds of titles available, most at discount prices! We also have a video and children's book section.

ModelRailroadBookstore.com - An online model railroad bookstore featuring a curated selection of new and used books. Layout design, track plans, scenery and structure building, wiring, DCC, Tinplate, Toy Trains, Price Guides and more.

Affiliate Disclosure: We may receive a commision from some of the links and ads shown on this website (Learn More Here)

Back
Top