Brazil mining disaster trial opens in London; China jails 15 over deadly building collapse

Brazil mining disaster trial opens in London; China jails 15 over deadly building collapse
by AFP Staff Writers
Beijing (AFP) Oct 17, 2024

China has jailed 15 people for their roles in a building collapse that killed dozens and sparked a public scandal over construction standards, state media said Thursday.

In April 2022, a commercial building in the central city of Changsha caved in, leaving more than 50 people dead and nine wounded.

Authorities later said the structure had been built illegally, triggering an outcry over corruption and laxity in the construction industry.

State broadcaster CCTV said Thursday that two courts in Changsha had issued sentences for 15 people implicated in the scandal.

They included 11 years in prison for Wu Zhiyong, a resident of the building deemed partly responsible for the collapse.

Other jail sentences included 12 years in prison for the former deputy chief of a state-backed municipal water company found guilty of dereliction of duty and bribery.

A local structuring testing firm was fined one million yuan ($140,000) and several of its employees jailed for providing documents that falsely declared the building to be safe.

The court ruled that Wu and others built the property despite having "no construction qualifications" and illegally rented it to catering and accommodation companies, CCTV reported.

"No effective rectification measures were taken" despite the discovery of major structural hazards, the broadcaster said.

It added that the incident "resulted in major casualties and serious economic losses".

Building collapses are not uncommon in China due to weak safety standards and corruption among those tasked with enforcing them.

Six people were killed and 10 were injured when a lightning strike caused a park pavilion to collapse in the eastern city of Changzhou in August.

Trial into Brazil mining disaster to open in London
London (AFP) Oct 17, 2024 - A long-awaited trial into whether Australian miner BHP is liable for one of Brazil's worst environmental disasters opens in London on Monday, potentially triggering compensation totalling billions of dollars.

The High Court in London will over several months examine whether BHP was in part responsible for the collapse in 2015 of a tailings dam in Brazil that killed 19 people and caused huge damage to the environment.

The tragedy in the southeastern town of Mariana unleashed a torrent of almost 45 million cubic metres of highly toxic mining waste sludge, flooding 39 towns and leaving more than 600 people homeless.

The flood also killed thousands of animals and devastated protected areas of tropical forest.

The collapsed dam at an iron ore mine was managed by Samarco, co-owned by BHP and Brazilian miner Vale.

At the time of the disaster, BHP had global headquarters in the UK as well as in Australia.

A separate case in Brazil has seen Vale and BHP offer to pay almost $25 billion in compensation. Vale has offered to share any compensation BHP ends up paying as a result of the London trial.

Tom Goodhead, of law firm Pogust Goodhead that is bringing the case, told a news conference on Wednesday that the London trial was the culmination of a six-year legal battle in Britain.

"For a lot of the clients that we represent, this is their opportunity for accountability and for justice, putting aside any of the financial damage or the environmental damage which has been caused."

- Accountability -

The amount of damages sought in the upcoming civil trial is estimated at GBP 36 billion ($47 billion), on behalf of more than 620,000 plaintiffs including 46 Brazilian municipalities, companies and Indigenous peoples.

"Such a thing cannot go unpunished," said Pamela Rayane Fernandes de Sena, whose five-year-old daughter Emanuele Vitoria was killed in the tragedy.

Speaking to AFP ahead of the trial, the 30-year-old said she was "not here for the money but to bear witness" to Emanuele's life, adding that she wished to remain "firm and strong" to obtain "justice".

"So I'm not going to give up," she said, calling the trial in London "(her) only hope".

The hearing, set to last until early March, must determine BHP's potential liability surrounding the disaster.

If found liable, another UK trial should take place from October 2026 to determine the amount of damages.

BHP argues the London court case is unnecessary because of the ongoing trial in Brazil.

The company estimates that more than 200,000 plaintiffs in the London case have already been compensated.

BHP adds that the Renova Foundation, which manages the compensation and rehabilitation programmes, has already paid out more than $7.8 billion in emergency financial aid.

The Australian giant additionally insists that the quality of river water contaminated by the fallout has returned to pre-disaster levels.