A devastating explosion at a mine in Spain’s northern Asturias region has killed five workers and injured four others, emergency services reported.
The accident occurred Monday morning at the Cerredo mine in Degana, approximately 450km northwest of Madrid. All five victims, whose ages ranged from 32 to 54 years old, were from the neighboring Leon region.
Adriana Lastra, central government representative in Asturias, told reporters at the scene that preliminary evidence suggests methane may have formed an explosive mixture in the mine, a dangerous phenomenon known as firedamp. “Police are already investigating what happened; they are already at the scene,” Lastra stated.
The injured miners were transported to hospitals in nearby cities, with two requiring helicopter evacuation. They suffered burns and, in one case, a head injury.
As news of the tragedy spread, families of the workers gathered at the site, which was cordoned off by police and emergency services vehicles. Jose Antonio Alvarez, a relative of one deceased miner, expressed his frustration to regional newspaper El Comercio, saying: “It’s scandalous. Companies used to guarantee safety, but they are doing it less and less.”
According to local newspaper La Voz de Asturias, the mine is owned by Blue Solving, a recently established local company that was attempting to repurpose the site for extracting “high-performance minerals” for industrial use.
Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez extended his “sincere condolences” to the victims’ families and wished a “speedy recovery” to the injured workers in a message posted on social media platform X.
Adrian Barbon, head of the Asturias regional government, declared two days of mourning “as a sign of respect for the deceased.”
Mining has historically been a major industry in Asturias, a mountainous region covered in dense forests.
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