Three geologists have died after being trapped this Thursday at a depth of 900 meters in a potash mine in the Catalan town of Súria, regional government sources confirmed.
The victims were three geologists, two of whom were master’s students at the Manresa Higher Polytechnic School of Engineering (Polytechnic University of Catalonia).
Firefighters and Police officers recovered the bodies of the three workers, along with teams from Iberpotash, a company that operates the mine in this town in the province of Barcelona. The extraction of the bodies was complex given that the area of the accident is very unstable.
The accident occurred at 08:53 local time due to a landslide in a mine gallery, to which nine firefighters traveled, including the Special Actions Group and a helicopter for health emergencies, as well as members of the Mossos d’Esquadra -the Police of Catalonia-, including agents of the Subsoil Group.
Union sources assured that the accident was caused by a smooth landslide, a flat and extensive face of rock, which is usually tried to be prevented through the bolting technique, which consists of placing anchors and a metal mesh to prevent the roof from giving way.
Previous complaints of lack of safety in the mine
Between 800 and 900 people work in the mine, so at the time of the accident the shift must have been made up of between 200 and 300 employees, added these sources, who warned that “security measures are not what they should be.” .
In June 2020, two employees of Montajes Rus, an Iberpotash subcontractor, died in two accidents at another mine in Catalonia, after some large stones fell on them, after which production was suspended and the company subsequently closed. The explotion.
Unlike this mine, in the Súria mine the company did not have subcontractors – something that the unions have historically rejected – for bolting work to secure the galleries.
Iberpotash is part of ICL Iberia, a subsidiary of the ICL group, with headquarters in Israel.
The President of the Catalan Government, Pere Aragonès, regretted the accident and conveyed “all his support to the families of the miners affected” and to their colleagues.
