Farmers in Zambia have filed an $80bn (£58.5bn) lawsuit against two Chinese-linked firms, blaming them for an ecological catastrophe caused by the collapse of a dam that stored waste from copper mining.
Millions of litres of highly acidic material spilled into waterways in February, leading to mass fatalities among fish, making water undrinkable and destroying crops, the farmers said in court papers.
This is one of the biggest environmental lawsuits in Zambia's history, with the farmers saying the spillage affects about 300,000 households in the copper-mining region.
The US embassy issued a health alert in August, raising concerns of widespread contamination of water and soil in the area.
The lawsuit pits villagers, mainly subsistence farmers, against Sino Metals Leach Zambia and NFC Africa Mining, subsidiaries of Chinese state-owned firms. A group of 176 farmers have filed papers in the High Court in Lusaka.
They allege the collapse of the tailings dam was due to engineering failures, construction flaws and operational mismanagement.
The firms have yet to comment on the lawsuit, though Sino Metals Leach Zambia indicated an estimated spillage of 50,000 cubic metres.
After the disaster, communities faced health risks with reported symptoms including blood in urine and respiratory issues. The farmers demanded the firms establish an $80bn fund for environmental reparations and a $20m emergency fund for immediate assistance and assessments.
The situation drew international concern, with the US embassy advising personnel to withdraw from the contaminated region.
