“Brumadinho: Start of trial against employees of Vale and TÜV-Süd”, 23 February 2026

On 27 January 2019, 272 people lost their lives in the man-made disaster and the livelihoods of the local population were significantly destroyed. A Brazilian subsidiary of TÜV Süd had certified the stability of the dam just four months earlier, even though the risks of a breach were known.

In Brazil, 16 employees of Vale and TÜV Süd have been charged with 272 counts of murder and crimes against the environment, among other offences. The trial begins today, 23 February, with the arraignment in Belo Horizonte. Witnesses will also be heard on the same day.

"The opening of this trial is an important step towards accountability for one of the most serious industrial disasters of recent decades involving powerful multinational corporations," says Cannelle Lavite, Co-Director of the Business and Human Rights Programme at ECCHR.

The trial is therefore of enormous importance for the bereaved families of the dead…explains their lawyer Danilo Chammas from Misereor's partner organisation Instituto Cordilheira.