Why are victims of Brazil's worst environmental disaster suing BHP in a London court?

Approximately 620,000 victims are fighting for justice in a nine years after biggest disaster; the collapse of the Fundão dam in Mariana (MG).

What is the Mariana dam disaster?

On 5 November 2015, the Fundão tailings dam collapsed in Minas Gerais, , unleashing around 50 million cubic metres of toxic waste, resulting in one of the most devastating environmental disasters in Brazilian history.

The collapse of the Mariana dam released an avalanche of arsenic-laced mud, which destroyed the small town of Bento Rodrigues. The mud travelled so quickly that inhabitants did not have time to escape, and 19 people lost their lives.

The toxic sludge made its way through various waterways and villages, destroying landscapes, and indiscriminately damaging infrastructure and wildlife. It travelled 700km to the Atlantic Ocean destroying water supplies, vehicles, habitats, livestock and, ultimately, peoples’ lives.

What has been happening?

A civil trial began in London on 21 October to determine whether BHP, the Anglo-Australian company, was responsible for the disaster.

The claimants’ lawyers argued successfully that the trial should be held in London because BHP headquarters “were in the UK at the time of the dam collapse”.

After three years of negotiations, Mike Henry, BHP’s chief executive, announced last week that a “milestone” $31bn (£23.9bn) deal would ensure compensation for all those affected by the catastrophic collapse of the Fundão dam in 2015.

But lawyers acting for the victims said they will continue to pursue their claim despite the settlement.

BHP described it “full and final” but lawyers acting for the largest group action in English legal history – including 620,000 individuals, 46 Brazilian municipalities, 2,000 businesses and 65 faith-based institutions – said they would continue to seek up to £36bn from BHP in a high court trial.

Tom Goodhead, global managing partner and chief executive at Pogust Goodhead, likened the deal in Brazil, and the company’s past offers of compensation, to the widely criticised response of the Post Office to the Horizon scandal.

He said: “The deal with the Brazilian authorities only serves to highlight exactly why the proceedings in the English courts are so critical.

“The victims have not been consulted on the deal and parts of the reparations will be spread over 20 years. It is therefore simply a first step in an ongoing battle for justice and adequate compensation for Brazil’s worst environmental disaster.

“Our legal case will publicly hold BHP to account and set a precedent; making it more difficult for multinational corporations more broadly to neglect their responsibility to the communities in which they operate.

“We must remember that in the immediate aftermath, BHP made insulting offers as low as $200 to people who had their lives destroyed in the disaster. This approach mirrors that of the Post Office scandal in the UK, where victims were offered negligible amounts of compensation after waiting for many years.”

Who are the claimants?

Gelvana Rodrigues, is one of the 620,000 people who are taking BHP to court in the UK over the disaster. She is the mother of seven-year-old Thiago, who was swept away to his death by the tsunami of mud that hit his grandmother’s home. He was last seen calling to Jesus to help save him. His body was found 100km from home, one week later.

Gelvana says that the death of Thiago destroyed the lives of all the family. The father of Thiago, Mr. Albertino Damasceno Santos Filho, lost his will to live; he suffered a heart attack and died years after the collapse. Around two years later, the father of Albertino also passed away due to a heart attack. Gelvana got married again and she gave birth to two little girls, but the sorrow caused by the death of Thiago persists.

Pamela Fernandes is the mother of the youngest child killed in the disaster. Five year old Emanuelle, known as Manu, was ripped from the arms of her father and her aunt, Priscila Izabel. Emanuelle's body was found about 5 kilometres away from the district of Bento Rodrigues.

Pamela has another son, Nicolas, who also survived the dam rupture. Nicolas swallowed a lot of mud and was injured, but managed to survive after hiding inside a car floating on the mud. He still lives with the trauma of the disaster and losing his older sister. Nicolas was three-year-old years old at the time of the disaster.

Jonathan Knowles lived in Governor Valadares with his Brazilian wife Sheila and young son Enzo, at the time of the disaster.He describes how they were warned that the dam had broken further up the river and told to try and gather as much water as possible as soon their water supply would be cut off. He says the mud took days to reach their village and when it came it was “biblical”. There were dead fish, animal carcasses, car debris – so much so there was no more space for water.

Jonathan’s family survived with the water they had collected – using their shower water to clean the floors and pots. But eventually his business, selling a water valve, became unsalvageable. The family had so little to their names that Jonathan decided to use the last of his money to fly himself home to England. He was forced to rent a room in Harrogate while he worked and saved money for Sheila and Enzo to join him. The family still suffers financially despite having a modest income in Brazil.

Wakrewa Krenak, a member of the Atorãn group from Krenak Indigenous community, was 23-years- old when the Mariana dam disaster struck.

Since that day, her community can no longer practise the traditions that were carefully preserved by their ancestors. She said: "“My community is stuck on an unsolved problem. The environmental damage is irreparable, and the Doce River will never go back to the way it was before. Our children and future generations will never understand the meaning of the river. We are losing our identity, our happiness and some have even lost the will to live.

“Damages are affecting the possibility of passing their cultural heritage to children. The children are also having more allergy reactions due to the dust that is raised from the trucks which continually drive by the community to provide them with water or carry out works. Some people fish in the river, but they see that fish are still covered in tumours. Because of this the community needs to fish in different rivers that were not affected by the disaster. The loss of their cultural heritage relates to (but not only) children not being able to learn how to swim or fish, or to be baptised, and to the community not being able to carry out their cultural festivities in and around the river, collect plants to treat any diseases or hunt.

“Our culture has been interfered with in such a way that there is no going back. We no longer practice our traditions that were carefully preserved by our ancestors. We cannot fish or swim.” “The environmental damage is irreparable and the Uatu (the Doce River) will never go back to the way it was before.”

“There is no amount of money that can compensate for the damage we have suffered. But we demand that justice be done. So the responsible companies must pay for it.”

A BHP spokesperson said: “The collapse of Samarco's Fundão dam was a tragedy, and our deepest sympathies remain with the families and communities affected. The $31.7 billion agreement signed on 25 October 2024 between the Brazilian government and public authorities and BHP Brasil, Vale and Samarco delivers comprehensive compensation for Brazilians in Brazil.

"This includes $7.9billion which has already been paid in compensation since 2016. The agreement is the outcome of several years of work with all levels of Brazilian government and with public authorities and prosecutors who defend the rights and interests of the environment, social interests and individual interests.

"BHP continues to defend the case in the UK court - as we believe Brazil is the right place to resolve this for the benefit of Brazilian people. The agreement in Brazil is the fastest, most efficient, and certain avenue to provide compensation to affected individuals.”