Mud from Brazil mining disaster is contaminating the Atlantic Ocean

RIO DE JANEIRO – A torrent of mud unleashed by a dam burst at an iron ore mine in southeastern Brazil is contaminating the Atlantic Ocean.

The deadly stain of red mud, water and debris from the Nov. 5 burst at the Samarco mine in the Minas Gerais state all but erased a hamlet there, killing eight people, with another four bodies still unidentified and 11 missing.

The mud flowed downstream into the Doce River, where it devastated wildlife and compromised the drinking water source for hundreds of thousands of people.

The stain flowed through the neighboring Espirito Santo state, reaching the Atlantic over the weekend.

A report Monday in O Estado de S. Paulo daily said the mud had reached a sensitive nature reserve frequented by endangered turtles.