A dam holding back waste water from an iron ore mine burst on Thursday in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais and local media reported as many as 16 people may have been killed.
The mining company Samarco, a joint venture between Brazil's Vale and Australia's BHP, said in a statement it had not yet determined why the dam burst or the extent of the disaster at its Germano mine near the town of Mariana.
Video footage on Globo's website showed houses of a village destroyed by muddy waters that surged down valleys in the hilly region of the iron ore mine.
The G1 news service of the Globo Media group reported that between 15 and 16 people died and 45 others were missing, citing the local union.