Victims demand justice over deadly Brazilian dam collapse as UK lawsuit closes

Victims of Brazilian dam collapse Gelvana Silva, Monia Dos Santos and Pamela Fernandes hold a banner with Mariana Mayor Juliano Duarte outside City Court House, Rolls Building ahead of the final day of the lawsuit against BHP in London, Britain, March 13, 2025. REUTERS/Marissa Davison

LONDON (Reuters) - With tears in their eyes, mothers of children who died in Brazil's worst environmental disaster - the 2015 Mariana dam collapse - demanded justice for their loved ones on Thursday as submissions in their London lawsuit came to an end.

Nineteen people were killed when the Mariana dam in southeastern Brazil collapsed and unleashed a wave of toxic sludge, leaving thousands homeless, flooding forests and polluting the Doce River.