
Devastating images have emerged showing the extent of one of Brazil's worst ever environmental disasters, a mudslide from a BHP-owned mine, that killed 19 people and wiped out an entire town in the Gualaxo River Valley.

On November 5 2015 millions of cubic metres of iron ore mining waste burst from Fundao dam, flattening the town of Bento Rodrigues and damaging other villages, ABC Four Corners will report tonight.

The Samarco mine, a company part owned by Australia's BHP Billiton and Brazilian mining company Vale SA, is located only a few kilometres above the town, in the state of Minas Gerais in southeastern Brazil.

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The town of Bento Rodrigues in Brazil, completely submerged in a deluge of toxic mud after a BHP Billiton and Vale SA-owned iron ore dam collapsed, flooding the town and the surrounding areas

When the dam collapsed, there was no warning system in place.

People only had minutes to escape, scrambling to higher ground before a deluge of mud descended on the village.

Images show Bento Rodrigues completely blanketed in thick, brown sludge with houses flattened, roofs caved in, abandoned cars left balancing on buildings and volunteers left to clean the mud covered streets.

The Doce River, which leads into the Atlantic Ocean, is shown to be a bright orange colour, after being flooded with the toxic mud.

The ABC is reporting that the mine, run by Samarco, has been found by prosecutors to have exhibited 'repeated, continued negligence'.

There are reports that police are now seeking the arrest of six Samarco executives who face charged of qualified homicide.

An aerial view of the damage in the town of Bento Rodrigues, that was flooded with toxic mud after a mining dam collapsed only a few kilometres away

The Brazilian government is also threatening to sue the mine for $7.2 billion.

BHP Billiton is said to have distanced itself from the operations of the mine.

Not only did the mud destroy Bento Rodrigues and damage towns further downstream, it polluted the river, killing fish and wildlife.

Independent testing in the river has found levels of arsenic and lead 10 to 20 times higher than Brazilian regulations allow.

Three months later, the town of Bento Rodrigues is still covered in mud and victims are seeking compensation.

Samarco, the company responsible for the disaster, is handling the day to day rebuilding, repairing homes, roads and bridges affected by the mudslide and victims who lost their homes and families are being given an allowance, based on the country's minimum wage.

But prosecutors say the disaster could have been prevented.

An aerial view shows rescuers and volunteers struggling through the thick, toxic mud in the aftermath of the mining dam disaster

The ABC reports that problems were first detected in 2007, when the dam was built.

Police and prosecutors say the most likely cause of the disaster was liquefaction - too much water in the tailings (ground rock and effluent generated by mining) which weakens the structure of the dam wall.

They say the mine ramped up production to offset the falling iron ore price, expanding the dam and changing its axis in the years leading up to its collapse.

Catastrophic Failure is screening on ABC's Four Corners on Monday 29 February at 8.30pm.

An image showing a car partly submerged in mud, surrounded by muddy animals and the remains of houses, which were completely flattened when the dam burst and mud flooded the town

An abandoned car left suspended on top of the edge of a building in Bento Rodrigues, after mud swept through and flattened the town and surrounding areas

A fireman holding a mud covered dog under his arm, as he walks through the deluge that swept through the twon in the Gualaxo River Valley after a mining dam burst

A foal being led up a hill by a group of rescuers after being found in amongst the mud, that flooded through the town of Bento Rodrigues and surrounding villages

An image showing the collapsed roof of a building, completely submerged in the mud, that swept through the Brazilian town of Bento Rodrigues when a nearby mining dam burst

An image showing mine tailings on the edge of a tributary to the Doce River. An independent measurement has revealed lead and arsenic levels are 10-20 times higher than Brazilian regulations allow

An image showing the Doce River, flooded with bright, toxic mud after the dam collapsed, which flows directly into the Atlantic Ocean

An image from Google Earth showing the Gualaxo River Valley in July 2015 before dam burst and toxic mud flooded the area

An image from Google Earth showing the same area in November 2015, after the dam burst and mud flooded everywhere

Another image showing a Google Earth aerial view of Bento Rodrigues after the dam burst, with the extent of the mud clearly visble

Priscila Barros, who miscarried her baby after the mudslide and lost her niece Emanuele, who was swept out of her arms during the disaster

Paula Alves is pictured in her new accommodation, indicating on the wall the level that the mud reached in her old house. Ms Alves rode her motorbike through Bento Rodrigues honking the horn and screaming at people to run, before the mud descended on the town