A Colombian geologist died in the collapse of a potash mine in the province of Barcelona (Spain)

Antioquian geologist Daniel Álvarez, graduated from the Eafit University and who was doing a master’s degree at the Polytechnic University of Catalonia, was one of three deaths caused by the collapse of a mine last Thursday, March 9, in the town of Súria which is located in the province of Barcelona, ​​Spain.

The 28-year-old professional He spent a year in the Iberian country and died while performing work typical of his profession in a potash mine, when a landslide occurred 900 meters deep. in the aforementioned filing, reported in the regional newspaper The Colombian.

They added that After the incident, the lifeless body of the Antioquian was rescued, along with those of his colleagues, around 5 p.m. Spanish time, by emergency agencies.

While in the newspaper El País of Spain they reported that the emergency was known around 8:53 in the morning and eight groups of rescuers and a helicopter were organized, that although they worked against the clock to save the geologists who lost their lives.

One of the workers pointed out in the Spanish newspaper that That day, 240 people were working on the site, but the three people who died were the only ones inspecting an area of ​​the mine. where the drilling was taking place.

before the tragedy at the Polytechnic University of Catalonia paid tribute to the three geologists with a minute of silence during Thursday afternoon.

They did the same Unión Sindical Obrera de Catalunya (USOC): “We want to send our deepest condolences to the families of the three comrades who lost their lives this morning carrying out his work in the mine of Súria”.

While at home, the Colombian Geological Society published a message of condolence for the death of Álvarez in the mining accident.

“The sudden departure of our young colleague Daniel Álvarez, a graduate of @EAFIT, very passionate about his profession, is deeply regretted. Our most sincere condolences to all who knew your joyful, effusive and dear person (sic)”, they published on the entity’s official Twitter account.

Firefighters lifted a large tent outside the mine as the company flag flew at half mast and a rescue helicopter hovered overhead to the region.

Tel Aviv-based ICL Group Ltd, whose subsidiary Iberpotash operates the mine, said in a statement that an “unfortunate underground accident” had occurred, before the fatalities were announced.

In this same Spanish region similar accidents had already been recorded over the past 10 years, where is the recording of four workers who lost their lives.

in December of 2013, Iberpotash said that two people who worked for this company died after a mine collapse in Súria.

Local media reported that a worker was hit by a rock and died in June 2020 at the company’s Vilafruns mine in the province of Barcelona. Three weeks later, a miner was killed in a similar accident. The Vilafruns mine was closed that year.

Potash is used as a fertilizer in agriculture and as a raw material in industries such as pharmaceuticals, explosives, glass and chemicals.

The prices of this ore soared last year after the European Union sanctioned Belarus, one of its main suppliers, for its support of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

(With information from Reuters)