Tragedy in the Asturian mine. Five workers have died, four have been injured, and two have escaped unharmed in an explosion that occurred at 9:30 a.m. inside the Cerredo mine, in the municipality of Degaña.
At the accident site, the Hunosa Mining Rescue Brigade, the Asturias Firefighters, and the canine unit of the Civil Guard are working. They have just located one of the two people who were still missing and are being airlifted to a hospital.
The accident occurred on the third level of this underground coal mine in southwestern Asturias, several meters deep, when a machine they were working with exploded, causing burns and injuries to those nearby. Two workers escaped unharmed.
Of the four injured, the two most severely injured were airlifted to the health center in Villablino (León), one of them with severe burns on their body. From there, they were transferred to the hospital in Ponferrada. A third injured person has also been transferred to a healthcare center in Castilla y León, and the fourth has been taken to the Asturian municipality of Cangas del Narcea with a head injury, as confirmed by sources from the Civil Guard to EL MUNDO.
Graphite exploitation permit
According to the spokesperson of the Asturian Government, Guillermo Peláez, the employees were carrying out work with an exploitation permit related to a possible use of mineral for graphite manufacturing.
The 112-Asturias Emergency Coordination Center received the call at 09:32 a.m. The caller reported an incident at the mine. They later added that there was a problem with a machine and people were injured.
The SEPA 112 Room, in addition to three helicopters, Rescue Group, and Canine Unit, has activated Firefighters from the SEPA stations in Cangas del Narcea and Ibias, Zone Chief, Logistic Support Vehicle, and Advanced Command Post.
Also, personnel from the Civil Guard of Degaña, Cangas de Narcea, as well as the Judicial Police of Pravia, have been dispatched to the site to investigate the cause of the work accident, one of the most serious in Asturian mining in recent years.
The Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, expressed his condolences to the families of the deceased victims of the accident and wished a speedy recovery to the injured through social media.
The head of the Government also thanked "the emergency services working on the rescue operations."