The residents of 93 apartments evacuated due to a sinkhole in Putxet will not be able to return home today

BarcelonaA major scare this morning in the Putxet neighborhood of Barcelona. A sinkhole eight meters in diameter and four meters deep, caused by the works on Line 9 of the metro, has forced the evacuation of eight buildings on Rubinstein, Teodora Lamadrid, and Sant Gervasi de Cassoles streets – initially four, but four more blocks were added during the morning–. The incident caused no injuries, but it did force the evacuation of dozens of residents who were at the time in the apartments around the interior courtyard where the sinkhole occurred. According to the latest data, up to 93 apartments in the area have been evacuated, but the exact number of affected residents is unknown. Be that as it may, these citizens will not be able to return home tonight, as the authorities have informed them.

According to Laura Carrasco, head of geotechnics and underground works for the Department of Territory, explained this morning at first light that from the L9 works, an increase in vertical movements was detected in the sensors installed in buildings and elements of the area. From there, technicians and firefighters began an inspection that detected the sinkhole and led to the evacuation of residents who were in the six affected blocks.

One of the first to see the sinkhole was the manager of the Verona pizzeria, at number 3 Teodora Lamadrid street, Domingo Fínez. He explains that when he opened the shop's shutter he saw something strange in the bathroom and thought he had left the light on. When he opened the door, he explains, he found that the sinkhole had swallowed the entire bathroom. "We are in a state of shock," he said, and he celebrated that luckily there was no one else in the premises at that moment.

The ghost of Carmel

Although the memory of the Carmel events twenty years ago has immediately reverberated in Putxet, the head of geotechnics and underground works of the Territori department has ruled out that they are comparable cases. Carrasco explained that it is a "totally different" situation because the construction system has nothing to do with it. In this regard, she explained that the same system makes it impossible for the sinkhole to deepen further. "This cavity can no longer evolve in depth," she said.

Specifically, the tunnel boring machine that is making the central section of the L9 leaves behind a metallic shield in the shape of a cylinder that serves as "provisional support" while the definitive tunnel is not placed. This, she said, means that "there can be no collapses on the shield." Carrasco added, moreover, that the tunnel boring machine has already passed about ten meters beyond the area of the affected buildings and has continued to function. Almost at the same time, the Minister of Territori, Sílvia Paneque, appeared at the press conference after the usual Tuesday Executive Council and specified that the works have been stopped shortly after the sinkhole. Paneque explained that "the necessary checks are being made before making new decisions," and stressed that now "the priority is to guarantee people's safety."

While they continue to examine the buildings in the area, the Firefighters have also begun the work to refill the sinkhole with concrete and stabilize the area. The head of the Barcelona Firefighters, Sebastià Massagué, explained that this is a job that "could take time" and he did not want to commit to a deadline for the residents to return to their homes.

Residents report cracks for days

Among the evacuated residents was Mercedes, who works in an office on the mezzanine of one of the affected blocks on Rubinstein street. She explains to ARA that, between 9:30 a.m. and 10 a.m. in the morning, a worker from the L9 construction sites asked them if they had noticed any damage. It was then that she realized that a door was not closing and that the floor had lifted. After a while, the Firefighters asked them to evacuate the building.

Teresa was also at home when the sinkhole occurred. She explains that around nine in the morning she was in her room in the block at Teodora Lamadrid street number 5 when she heard a loud noise. "As if it were thundering, but in an enclosed space," she describes. Immediately, she explains, the Firefighters called her to leave the house, with just enough time to take a quick shower, grab her medication, and leave. After a while, her daughter Maite arrived, who took her to her house while they wait for news about when they can return.

The residents, many of whom have taken refuge in the Sant Gervasi Market – right in front of the affected buildings – report that the tunnel boring machine work has been causing some problems for days. Mari Carmen, for example, explains that in her garage (in a building not yet affected) cracks have been appearing for days. Mercedes also explains that a few days ago a section of the sidewalk on Sant Gervasi de Cassoles was raised. An incident that, she says, they already linked to the works.

Although at one point a space was set up in the market to assist residents, the Barcelona Social Emergency and Urgency Center (CUESB) later opened an assistance point at the Vil·la Florida Civic Center. There, evacuated residents who request it will be assisted, as well as those who may have been away from home when the incident occurred and who, for the moment, cannot return.