Roof collapse

MEMBERS of the Special Actions Group (GRAE) of the Fire Department recovered the bodies of three geologists who died on Thursday, March 9. They became trapped in a potash mine in the Barcelona municipality of Suria in the county of the Bages, after a landslide.

The three workers were trapped at a depth of 900 metres after the collapse of a gallery and emergency workers, together with the mine’s rescue brigade, were initially unable to access the affected area due to access difficulties.

According to Patricio Chacana, the CEO of the Suria potash mine, the young geologists were evaluating the safety of one of the fronts when the roof ‘fell on them’.

“The ceiling collapsed and it is not known why. It could have been due to vibrations or an earthquake,” said a representative of the USOC union, as reported by a news source.

The victims were aged 28, 29 and 31. According to reports, two of the deceased were master’s degree students at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) in Manresa. The fatal victims were from Sant Joan de Vilatorrada in Barcelona, Colombia, and Alicante.