40-year-old worker dies in workplace accident at Solvay

A 40-year-old man died this morning in an accident at work in the facilities of the Solvay company. The deceased, a crane operator from the company Cuevas Gestión de Obras, which acted as a subcontractor for Calderería Ibérica SL to offer services to the chemical factory in Barreda (Torrelavega), suffered an accident while replacing one of the pipes that transports sludge to the sea from the plant. The victim, married with children, had been a resident of Carandía (Piélagos) for more than a decade.

The incident apparently occurred at around 9:00 a.m., when the worker was crushed by one of the pipes after an unexpected movement of the load, which fell parallel to the ground and “full on” the worker. The employee was placing the pipe, “more than 20 meters long”, “very heavy” and loaded in a truss (the materials were packed tightly to take up as little space as possible), when the load moved for unknown reasons and fell from the crane used to lift this type of pipe. At the time of the accident, the man was not riding the machine and was working from the ground alongside two other workers from the company Calderería Ibérica.

Following the incident, the Barreda plant notified the medical service and the authorities to intervene in the area. Now, the usual investigation and inspection by the Labor Department after workplace accidents will clarify the details of what happened. In addition, Solvay confirms that it has launched its own internal investigation and that it will collaborate with the authorities to clarify what happened.

The factory was in total “consternation” this morning after learning of the incident. The colleagues and those closest to this resident of Carandía cannot understand how the accident could have happened and they emphasise how “methodical” and “extremely cautious” this worker was, whom they define as “one of the most meticulous crane operators” and whose desire to carry out “safety to the letter” and his “extensive experience in this position as a specialist” are highlighted. The Solvay company has distributed an internal communication among the workers in which it explains what happened to avoid speculation and in which it expresses its condolences: “We sincerely regret this sad accident and we send our condolences to his family and friends,” concludes the text accompanied by a black ribbon.

Solvay claims that there has not been a “similar fatality” at the facilities for more than twenty years. Specifically, it goes back to 2004, when a young employee of Besaya Logistic died at the Barreda complex after the forklift he was working with overturned and became trapped in its arch. Four years earlier, on March 6, 2000, a twenty-something worker who was working in the drilling area also died at the factory after being run over by a chain.

The mayor of Piélagos, Carlos Caramés, also expressed his regret and described the incident as “a real tragedy” after learning of what had happened shortly before midday.

Six fatal accidents

The fatality on Tuesday adds to the list of deaths from workplace accidents in Cantabria. So far this year, six workers have died in this type of accident, the last one less than a month ago, on August 4, when Manuel Pérez Peral, a 60-year-old resident of Voto, died at the Vitrinor factory facilities after a vehicle fell on him, he became trapped and finally died.

Also this summer, in July, a 56-year-old French fisherman died in Santander after being evacuated from the boat he was working on by a Maritime Rescue helicopter. The crew member suffered an accident at work on the boat – a French fishing boat called Hunekin Aski – when it was about 25 nautical miles north of the Santander coast.

In March, a 47-year-old resident of Santiago de Cartes died while working at the Derivados del Flúor factory in Ontón (Castro Urdiales). The victim, Marcos González Fernández, worked for a subcontractor and died when he was handling a crane to transport trusses (iron posts) and one of the wire rods broke and the load fell on him.

Also in March of this year, Julián Montero, a 58-year-old firefighter from Terán, passed away after extinguishing the flames of a fire in Cabuérniga. He was the most veteran of the Ruente crew with more than 30 years of experience.

The first fatal accident of the year dates back to January 30. Aghanghoul Abdeljalil, a 26-year-old man, died after receiving an electric shock while building a gazebo in the garden of a villa on Calle la Serna in Guarnizo.

All this in a context in which the unions continue to warn that the data in Cantabria are “unacceptable” after learning that last July was the seventh month of the year with the most work accidents (645 cases) in the region since 2009. In addition to the fatalities, Cantabria had 32 serious incidents between January and August of this year in the workplace, according to data from the statistics on work accidents published by the Cantabrian Institute for Safety and Health at Work (ICASST).

UGT emphasises that the average age of those who die in workplace accidents in Cantabria is 54 years old and employees with ten years of seniority. These figures are due to the “ageing of the population” and the “change in the profile of the victims”, since years ago it was common to associate this type of fatal incident with young workers who had recently joined the labour market and a certain “inexperience”.