Search on for up to 200 missing after Brazil dam collapse Workers of Brazilian mining company Vale were eating lunch when a dam that held back waste collapsed, burying the restaurant in reddish-brown sludge, killing at least seven people and leaving another 200 missing

SAO PAULO -- Workers with Brazilian mining company Vale were eating lunch when a dam that held back waste collapsed, burying the restaurant and surrounding community in reddish-brown sludge, killing at least seven people and leaving up to 200 missing.

The status of the workers and others in the city of Brumadinho was unknown late Friday, hours after what President Jair Bolsonaro and other officials were already describing as a "tragedy."

Seven bodies had been recovered by late Friday, according to a statement from the governor's office of Minas Gerais state. But the fear was that there would be many more as rescue and recovery teams dug through feet of mud.

Vale CEO Fabio Schvartsman said he did not know what caused the collapse. About 300 employees were working when it happened.