As of: 01/24/2022 3:03 p.m
More than 270 people died three years ago in the largest mining accident in recent Brazilian history. Another 1,100 survivors of the disaster are now demanding compensation from the testing company TÜV Süd.
The proceedings against TÜV Süd because of the dam failure disaster in Brumadinho, Brazil, are being expanded to include claims for damages in the millions. A total of 1,106 other survivors of the accident three years ago and relatives had filed a lawsuit against the German testing company, said Jan Eric Spangenberg, lawyer for the plaintiff, to the Evangelical Press Service (epd).
Accordingly, survivors as well as parents, spouses and siblings of the victims participate in the extension of the lawsuit. They are demanding 440 million euros in damages.
The verdict comes later
The district court of Munich confirmed this epd the extension of the lawsuit and that negotiations will now continue. A date for the new hearing has not yet been set. A date originally set for February 1 for the pronouncement of judgment has been cancelled.
Previously, six relatives of an engineer who died in the accident in the iron ore mine Córrego do Feijão had sued TÜV Süd for damages.
Flooded with poison sludge
On January 25, 2019, the dam of a retention basin in the mine collapsed. The relatives accuse TÜV Süd of having certified the stability of the 85 meter high dam despite obvious safety concerns. Internal documents also make it clear that the auditors felt pressured. More than 270 people died in the accident in the state of Minas Gerais, and the area was flooded with toxic mud.
The court must clarify whether TÜV Süd is at least partly to blame for the accident. The testing company has denied all allegations. The operator group Vale had already been sentenced by the Brazilian judiciary to pay billions in compensation.