The gallery of a potash mine has collapsed in Catalonia, in the northeast of Spain.
THE “worseis to be feared after an accident 900 meters deep in which three people were victims in a potash mine in Suria, Catalonia (north-eastern Spain), local authorities said. “The information we have makes us fear the worstJoan Ignasi Elena, head of the interior portfolio in the regional government, told the press at the scene, without however confirming their death.
The firefighters are working to ensure the safety of the scene in order to “to be able to access the place where the three employees arevictims of a “collapse” in the mine, he added. The president of the region, Pere Aragonès, had announced earlier on Twitter “the death of the three minersbefore deleting his tweet a few minutes later.
Two medical helicopters
Several Spanish media, citing sources within the emergency services intervening on the spot, claim that these three minors are dead. Questioned by AFP, a spokesman for the regional police indicated for his part that “official confirmation (of their death) would only come once the doctors get to their level, certify that they are dead and notify the families“. According to firefighters, these three minors are “trapped about 900 meters deep“.
The accident took place shortly before 9 a.m. local time when a “collapseOccurred in a gallery of the mine, said the regional police who deployed specialized units to participate in the operation, including a canine unit.
The regional emergency services, for their part, specified that they had sent two medical helicopters and a team of psychologists to the scene. Speaking of a “terrible news“, the Minister of Labor, Yolanda Díaz, expressed her “affection» and his «solidarity with the families and colleagues of employees who were victims of a collapse in the Suria mine“.
Responsible for companies within the Catalan regional government, Roger Torrent assured, for his part, that the last control of the mine by the authorities had taken place “three weeks ago” and that'”no irregularityhad not been detected.
Two deaths in 2013
This potash mine belongs to ICL Iberia, the Spanish subsidiary of the Israeli group ICL. On its website, this company based in Suria, a locality located about 80 km north-west of Barcelona, says it employs 1,100 employees and is “the only company producing potassium salts in Spain“.
It has two mines in this area.that represent“, according to her, “one of the largest potash reserves in Western Europe“. Two miners died in an accident at the same Suria mine in December 2013 following the collapse of the roof of a gallery, according to local media.
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The most serious mining accident in Spain in recent years took place in October 2013. Six people died and five were injured due to a firedamp explosion at the Santa Lucía coal mine in the province of León ( North West). The trial of the company’s leaders opened recently.
In August 1995, fourteen people died following another explosion of firedamp, in a mine in the Asturias region (north).
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