2 killed in landslide in central Portugal

The landslide in a quarry in Evora in central Portugal has killed at least two people, Jose Ribeiro, commander of Relief Operations Evora said on Monday.

Those killed in the landslide are two workers of the company that operates the quarry, he told reporters.

Secretary of State for Civil Protection, Jose Artur Neves, said that the causes of the landslide in a quarry in Borba, Evora will be investigated but now "this is the moment of help."

"The causes, of course, will be investigated" and "ascertained," the official said at a press conference at Borba Firefighters' barracks.

Asked by journalists whether the alleged fragility of the section of the road that led to the interior of this marble quarry in the Alentejo municipality was not previously known, the secretary of state said he had no information in that regard.

"I have no information. This is the time of the rescue and this is what we are here" to do "to mobilize the necessary means for this," he told reporters.

The authorities are unaware of the number of people missing.