A dam that burst at an iron-ore mine in south-eastern Brazil on Thursday killed at least 15 people, devastated a nearby town with mudslides and leaving officials in the remote region scrambling to assess casualties. Forty-five people were still missing after the disaster at the Germano mine near the town of Mariana in Minas Gerais state, a local union told the G1 news portal. The mine is operated by Samarco, a joint venture between the Anglo-Australian mining giant BHB Billiton and the Brazilian company Vale.