Brasilia: A dam collapse at an iron-ore mine in southeast Brazil has left at least seven people dead and some 150 others missing, officials say. The break caused a sea of muddy sludge to spread across rural areas of Brumadinho, in Minas Gerais state, burying buildings and vehicles on Friday, the BBC reported.

It is not clear what caused the dam, owned by Brazil's largest mining company, Vale, to break. Many of those missing were workers who were having lunch in the dam's cafeteria that was buried by the sludge. The dam near the Feijao iron ore mine burst its barrier at around lunchtime, flooding another dam down below.