Court of Appeal considers £5bn lawsuit over Brazil’s Mariana dam disaster

The Court of Appeal in London has begun considering whether to hear a £5 billion lawsuit against the Anglo Australian mining company BHP over the Mariana dam disaster in Brazil in 2015.

Nineteen people were killed when the Mariana dam collapsed, while dozens of communities were affected by the toxic waste which was released into the River Doce – destroying wildlife, fish and farmland as it contaminated everything in its path.

But so far no one has been convicted over the disaster.