A German company that only months ago inspected a dam that collapsed in Brazil said on Saturday that it found nothing wrong with the structure during the checks.

The statement came as hopes were fading that rescuers would find more survivors from at least 300 missing after the dam collapsed at a mine in southeast Brazil, with nine bodies so far recovered.

Tuev Sued, a Munich-based company specialising in certifications across the world, said it ran the inspection at the request of Vale, the Brazilian mining giant that owns the mine.

"In September 2018 Tuev Sued, commissioned by Vale, carried out an inspection of the dam which, as far as we know at the moment, found no defects," a spokesman told AFP.

Tuev Sued was not in a position to give more information while the investigation into the disaster was ongoing, he said, adding however that the company was fully cooperating with the investigation, including by providing "all documentation needed".

On Friday, a torrent of mud broke through the dam at the iron-ore mine close to the city of Belo Horizonte, in the state of Minas Gerias.

The massive, muddy flow from the collapse barrelled towards the nearby town of Brumadinho, population 39,000, but did not hit it directly.

Instead, it carved its way across roads, vegetation and farmland, taking down a bridge, and damaging or destroying homes.

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