The collapse of a 100 metre section of the Borba to Vila Viçosa road, as it passes along a narrow section between two marble quarries, saw a mechanical digger, two cars and a box van, all with their occupants, crash into the water 50 metres below.
Two men have been confirmed dead and three men, possibly more, are still missing.
According the Évora GNR, the two confirmed dead were quarry workers: a 50-year-old man who lived in Bencatel, Vila Viçosa, and a 57-year-old man who lived in Vila Viçosa, Évora.
The body of one of the victims was been recovered from the quarry on Tuesday afternoon, almost 24-hours after the accident.
Work continues to rescue the body of the second man but safety conditions and non-existent due to tonnes of unstable rock and mud.
An 85-year-old man from Alandroal, Évora, is missing and may be another of the victims of the landslide which happened at 3.45 pm on Monday.
The prosecution service already has instituted, "an investigation to ascertain the circumstances surrounding the incident."
About 60 operational personnel, including Civil Protection, military engineering, geology and mining experts and marble extraction technicians all were engaged in rescue operations this afternoon.
“This is a delicate, time-consuming and complex operation,” explained José Ribeiro, commander of the Évora fire department, adding that, "the situation is unstable."
Authorities are pumping water out of the huge quarry to try and recover the bodies of the victims and to identify the vehicles that careered into the quarry after the road between Borba and Vila Viçosa gave way.
Portugal’s President, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa made a visit to the Borba quarry this afternoon but made no statement.
The head of Portugal’s Order of Engineers said on Monday that he was "astounded" at the landslide at the Borba quarry as the dangerous road was already known about and that the "proper measure" was to close the road.
"Unfortunately, I have to show some amazement about what happened and how it was possible. It was a situation that had been identified at least four years ago, closing the road already had been considered," said Mineiro Aires in statements to the Lusa news agency.
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