A mine belonging to the Brazilian petrochemical giant Braskem collapsed in the northeastern coastal city of Maceo, the city’s civil defense authorities said.
A video distributed by the authorities shows a sudden and cloudy bubble of water in Lake Mondao in the Mutang District of the city, reflecting the collapse of the mine, the area has been evacuated before and there is no danger to anyone, officials are still assessing the separation and will provide more information soon, according to the Brasilia agency.
Braskem, a specialist in the extraction of rock salt for 40 years in Maceo, led to the displacement of tens of thousands of people, emptying local communities, and on November 28, the company alerted the authorities to the imminent danger of a mine collapse, and the land around the mine has been steadily sinking since then, dropping a total of 2.35 meters (7.7 feet).
On November 30, Alagoas governor Paulo Dantas warned of the possibility of” the formation of large pits ” after the collapse of the mine, and said that federal teams would arrive that night as support.
Local residents were asked to stay away from the area and waited anxiously, imagining the damage that the landslide would cause to their homes and the rest of the city.
In the early days, Braskem sent regular updates, including possible times when the mine might collapse. The messages sparked fear among residents, among them Carlos Eduardo da Silva Lopez, a student at the Federal University of Alagoas.
