At least nine people are dead and more 200 people have been reported missing after a mine waste dam collapse in Brazil, according to local firefighters.

Nine people pulled by helicopter from the thick mud that coated everything in its wake. Nearly 200 people have been rescued according to a spokesperson for Minas Gerais state’s Civil Defense.

The disease took place in Minas Gerais, Brazil while local firefighters said the number of missing in the area could be at least 300, which the dam collapse caused a huge mudslide in a mining complex.

The dam's cafeteria, where workers were eating lunch, was buried by the sludge while state governor Romeu Zema said there was little chance of finding people alive.

While the company that operates the dam, Vale SA, confirmed the collapse, there is still no confirmation as to the cause of the disease.

Nineteen people were killed in another dam collapse, in what is considered to be Brazil's worst environmental disaster, took place in the village of Bento Rodrigues in Minas Gerais, in 2015

ILKHA