“There is a reflection we should make. We talk about planning to understand how essential it is, so this does not happen again. The stone resource exists where it exists, it is not possible to have a quarry where there is no stone,” Miguel Goulão said in an interview with Lusa News Agency.

In the construction of roads, infrastructures and buildings, he said, “good planning (is needed) so everything is in perspective to be compatible.”

“[…] We have to please the community where we belong but that sometimes does damage a lot of things. It does not mean it is what happened in Borba,” Goulão said. “But proper and appropriate planning prevents these events – which are unique – from happening.”

According to him, the Alentejo, south-central and southern part of Portugal, has quarries that vary in depth, and there are currently people “who are quarrying between 40m and 60m and others 120m, 140m deep.” However, there is still marble beyond that.

The landslide on the road between Borba and Vila Viçosa brought down large quantities of rocks, marble blocks and land into a quarry next to the road. The alarm was raised at 3.45pm on 19 November.

Two workers from a marble quarrying company, who worked at the active quarry, died as well as three other men who were in two cars on the road that collapsed into the closed-down quarry.

The public prosecutor has opened an investigation to ascertain the circumstances of the accident, directed by the department of a criminal investigation of Évora, and the investigation is in the care of two judges.

The government requested an urgent inspection into the licensing, operation, supervision and suspension of operation of the quarries located in the Borba area.