Situation at Praid Salt Mine continues to worsen
Eight international experts are working alongside Romanian specialists at the Praid salt mine, where the situation remains dramatic following the floods
Corina Cristea, 06.06.2025, 13:50
The situation in Praid, where the Corund stream has broken through the riverbed and infiltrated the underground salt mine, still remains under question. Three seismic stations have been brought in to help monitor the Salt Mine and predict a prospective collapse of the old mine floor, and the authorities have decided to permanently divert the Corund stream, so as not to further affect the Praid Salt Mine, which is currently completely flooded.
The engineering works will be completed on July 1, the head of the Emergency Department Raed Arafat announced. At the same time, the 4 million cubic meters of water inside will be pumped into an artificial salt lake, the authorities also said.
In the meantime, the craters in the old mine area have expanded, but do not endanger the activities taking place there, and no new ones have appeared. The salt mine has been closed since May 6, due to infiltrations caused by heavy rainfall, and currently approximately 50,000 people living downstream of the Praid village no longer have drinking water, due to very high concentration of chlorides in the Corund stream and the Târnava Mică river, following the floods.
Dozens of people who live in the area are still evacuated, but they have access to their homes during the day, for current activities. In the meantime, the Corund stream flow rate is decreasing, salinity levels measured on the Târnava Mică river have not increased, but parameters will continue to be monitored twice a day throughout the state of alert, the authorities say.
A team of experts from Spain, Germany, the Netherlands and Hungary, working alongside Romanian experts in mining, geodesy, infrastructure and the environment, have also arrived on site. The European Commission announced that the team will be deployed for a week to help analyse the situation on site at the Praid Salt Mine, after the Romanian authorities activated the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, requesting experts in rock and salt mine mechanics. Accompanied by a liaison officer from the EU Emergency Response Coordination Centre (ERCC), the team is also working with Romanian counterparts to develop a roadmap for restoring the mine and to assess potential risks to the inhabited area above the mine.
Beyond the environmental disaster, the permanent closure of the salt mine or its collapse would also have economic effects. Last year alone, the salt mine was visited by 600,000 people, with an average 1,600 access tickets sold daily, so each day it stays closed means losses of about EUR 18,000, to speak of the tourist component alone. (AMP)
