Borba quarry collapse – victims’ familes accept compensation of €1.6 million

The 19 relatives and heirs of those who died when the EM255 road in Borba collapsed intotwo quarries, all of whom had demanded damages from the taxpayer, have accepted an amount proposed by Maria Lúcia Amaral – a total of €1.6 million.

A source from the Ombudsman’s Office, said that “all 19 applicants,” who are family members and heirs of the five victims of the accident in November 2018, “accepted the compensation proposals” presented by Amaral, the head of the independent State body that defends citizens’ rights.

“We received the answers and this week,the Justice Department sent the 19 proposals and respective terms of acceptance to the Prime Minister to pay the families of the victims,” ??the source added.

On the afternoon of November 19, 2018, a section of about 100 cubic metres under a section of the municipal road EM255, between Borba and Vila Viçosa, in the district of Évora, collapsed, sending rock and blocks of marble down into two deep quarries, causing five fatalities.

The accident resulted in the deaths of two quarry workers who dropped into an active quarry and three men in two vehicles that fell into the water of a quarry.

The Public Prosecutor’s Office initiated an investigation to ascertain the circumstances of the accident but has yet to report.

In an extraordinary meeting of the Council of Ministers on December 27, 2018, a resolution was approved that established an out-of-court settlement mechanism for payment of compensation for the death of the victims, and the decision was published in January in Diário da República.

The resolution, approved by the Government, aldo reads that the victims’ relatives must repay the amounts received if the State is found not to be liable.