The Government, on compensating those affected by the L9 sinkhole: "We will do what it takes"

A week after the incident, residents of the 93 apartments in the Sant Gervasi - la Bonanova neighborhood remain evacuated and will not be able to return to their homes until at least Friday. The Minister of Territory, Housing and Ecological Transition, Sílvia Paneque, has not ruled out compensation for the residents and shopkeepers affected by the sinkhole caused by the works on line L9 of the metro in Barcelona. In an interview on Els matins on TV3, the minister stated that they will do "whatever it takes", after being asked about possible compensation. "It is evident that the residents have no responsibility whatsoever," she said.

Paneque assured that the Generalitat and the City Council will continue to assume the relocation of those affected and stated that afterwards "there will be time to determine responsibilities". She insisted that the priority is to guarantee the residents' return to their homes with "the highest safety standards". As she detailed, sensors show a stabilization of the ground, but technicians continue to analyze building by building and the state of the ground beneath the buildings to check that there are no further cavities that could represent a risk.

Regarding the causes of the sinkhole, the minister points out that the main hypothesis is that a cavity generated during the drilling did not receive an "adequate injection" of concrete at the time, which would have ended up surfacing. However, she stressed that the investigation remains open and asked for "prudence" until the technicians establish the definitive causes. Experts consulted by ARA pointed to the possibility that, due to some incident, the tunnel boring machine had generated what is known as a chimney.

Regarding the works on line L9, the government spokesperson also explained that the tunnel boring machine continues to operate, but alternates periods of activity and stoppage depending on daily technical inspections. As indicated, the machine stops during checks so that there are no noises that alter the results, while on other occasions it "advances more slowly than it would normally until it reaches the point where a technical and review stop was already planned". Finally, Paneque has ruled out modifying the pending route of the L9 and has defended that the construction system used is safe.