Madrid, Mar 9 (AP) Three workers died after becoming trapped deep underground in a potash mine in northeastern Spain on Thursday, firefighters said.

The three were working at the Cabanasses de Súria mine around 80 kilometres (50 miles) northwest of Barcelona.

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Firefighters in Spain's Catalonia region confirmed the deaths, after police said earlier that land collapsed inside the mine just before 9 am.

The collapse occurred at a depth of 900 metres (nearly 3,000 feet), according to the firefighters.

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The mine is operated by the Iberpotash company, and owned by Tel Aviv-based ICL Group, which didn't immediately comment.

Around 20,000 people work in Spain's mining sector, according to Energy Ministry statistics, a figure that has halved in the last two decades.

Between 2016 and 2021, the last year for which statistics were available, an average of four workers died annually in Spain's mining sector.

Catalan regional president Pere Aragonès offered his condolences to the families affected, describing the incident as a “tragic accident”. (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)