One year on from the quarry disaster in Borba in which five people died (click here), the syndicate that represents workers in the sector affirms that dangers persist.
In other words, there remain countless other potential accidents ‘just waiting to happen’ (click here).
Fátima Messias, coordinator of FEVICCOM, the federation of syndicates in the industry, has told Lusa: “from employers’ side there have been no alterations in procedures to avoid new accidents happening”.
Employers federation Assimagra meantime has labelled the Borba horror – where a national road collapsed into a water filled quarry – as ‘an isolated incident’.
But the day after this affirmation, the government was reported to have presented a formal complaint to the Public Ministry citing 21 quarries failing to comply with standards.
Since the Borba tragedy, over 1,200 signs warning people of danger have been placed in quarries spread over four municipalities: Vila Viçosa (Évora district), Alcobaça (Leiria), Borba (Évora) and Ponte de Lima (Viana do Castelo).
But environment minister João Pedro Matos Fernandes admitted this week that due to safety issues, there remain ‘no conditions’ in which the collapsed road between Borba and Vila Viçosa can be reopened.
