Published 23.03
Kent Torneus worked in the mine for 29 years and 1 day.
Retirement was only months away when he was crushed to death at his workplace.
– He deserved to come home from work, says son Rickard.
The sunny Friday afternoon in May 2024 had begun to turn into evening when Rickard Torneus and wife Lisa went out to rake the yard in front of the parents’ home they had just taken over.
In the air was the anticipation of the approaching summer and all the plans they had ahead of them.
But when the wife’s phone rings and the voice on the other end announces that something serious has happened, Rickard’s father Kent at work at LKABall dreams of the future must be crushed.
– They told me that something serious had happened to Dad down in the mine, that the ambulance was on its way to the hospital and that I should hurry there. That’s where my world started to fall apart, says Rickard.
What had happened to 59-year-old Kent, who worked as a mechanic in the Kiruna mine for over 29 years, was then and there unclear.
– When I arrived at the hospital, dad hadn’t even come up from the mine. It takes about half an hour to climb the 1,403 meters to ground level. That says something about how far down in the underworld he was when life began to leave him.
Investigated by prosecutors
The wait at the hospital was long and unbearable. Finally, Rickard says, a doctor came into the room and told them that Kent was dead.
– That feeling cannot be described. When your whole world comes crashing down in a matter of seconds.
But instead of going in and saying goodbye, the police showed up at the hospital.
– We were not allowed to see him before they had examined the body. I remember thinking why are the police here if someone just got sick?
In the end, Rickard, his wife and their three common children were allowed to enter the room and say goodbye.
– He was lying there dirty from working down in the mine. The mine dust was pitch black. His shirt was torn from shoulder to shoulder across his chest and the whole room had a heavy smell of iron.
– Later I would understand that it was the smell of blood.
What happened in Kent a few hours earlier has been the subject of investigation by both the police and the Work Environment Agency, and serious criticism has been directed at the employer from unions and colleagues.
In connection with the incident wrote LKAB themselves on its website:
“According to initial information, cases of illness could have been behind the accident. It is no longer a probable cause, the cause must be investigated”.
Drowned in his own blood
The matter is currently being investigated by prosecutors and a decision in the case is expected before midsummer.
However, it has been established that Kent, who at the time was working on maintenance work of a down in the mine, was crushed to death when a hatch inside the crusher came into motion.
– As I understand it, it only takes four seconds from open to closed position and the door weighs several tons. Dad didn’t have a chance to react.
According to what Rickard has recounted, a surveillance video from the scene of the accident shows that Kent was trapped for 70 seconds before the hatch was opened again.
He then falls down from a stand.
– The policeman who described dad’s injuries afterwards stopped himself and said that I probably didn’t want to hear everything.
– But in short, it can be stated that he slowly drowned in his own blood.
10 months until retirement
The fact that the father probably lived for a while after the accident torments Rickard, as does the fact that he himself was only informed of the seriousness of the situation much later.
– At the same time that he was tormented by unbearable pain underground, I sat above ground and thought that maybe he had just gotten sick.
Rickard is also critical of how the employer has handled the incident.
He mentions that it took over eight hours before a manager called him and apologized for the grief, and that LKAB initially came out and said that the incident could have been caused by a case of illness.
– I think it is so badly done as that information was completely misleading. They are not doctors who make diagnoses. In my world, it’s called a workplace accident until proven otherwise.
Kent had ten months left until retirement and had just started renovating his parents’ home in Jukkasjärvi when the accident happened.
A home he only had time to live in for seven weeks before he and all dreams of the future died, that May day two years ago.
– It hurts to think about everything he never got to experience.
Wants redress
Rikard is now demanding that his father be redressed.
– Kent was not just a name in an accident report. He was a father, a father-in-law, a grandfather and a friend to many.
– But above all, he was a person who deserved to come home from work.
Aftonbladet has been in contact with LKAB, which announces that it is waiting to comment on the matter until the preliminary investigation is completed.
However, it is noted that there was an extensive investigation and that the incident has affected many people.
“First and foremost close relatives, friends and colleagues but also everyone else at LKAB and in Kiruna”. That an employee does not come home after work is the worst thing that can happen,” writes Mikko Viitala, press manager at LKAB in an email.
