TÜV SÜD hires law firms to probe Vale dam disaster role

German inspection firm TÜV SÜD said on Wednesday that it had hired two external law firms to investigate its role in auditing a tailings dam run by Vale SA before it collapsed last month, killing an estimated 300 people.

TÜV SÜD said in an emailed statement that it had retained Pohlmann & Company and Hengeler Mueller for the independent probe, adding that it also planned to ask an "independent specialist" to assess technical questions about the disaster. (Reporting by Christian Plumb; Editing by Sandra Maler)