The Foundation For The Defense Of Citizens Against State Abuses (FACIAS) has filed a complaint with the Public Prosecutor's Office of the High Court of Cassation and Justice, requesting that the individuals from the National Administration "Romanian Waters" and the National Salt Company (SALROM) SA who are responsible for the disaster at the Praid Salt Mine should be held criminally liable. Their failure to act for 18 years, despite warnings and technical solutions offered by specialists, has culminated in the ecological disaster threatening the lives of local residents.
In the complaint submitted to the prosecutors, FACIAS refers to a 2007 study entitled "How to prevent the risk of surface water intrusion into the old Praid Salt Pans", conducted by the National Research and Development Institute for Metals and Radioactive Resources, which explicitly mentions the imminent danger of flooding the Praid Salt Mine. The specialists then indicated the areas with "high humidity" near the Doja well, exactly the points where infiltration occurred in 2025, and recommended diverting the water course as a technical solution. Moreover, the authorities ignored even the recent infiltrations in February 2023 and April 2024.
While there was a risk that Salina Praid would be flooded, the Romanian Waters Administration and SALROM passed the responsibility. The stream regulation works, started in 2012, were never completed with the essential stages of concreting and waterproofing. As long as 18 years ago, specialists recommended the technical solution adopted a few days ago as a matter of urgency, namely to divert the Corund brook along its fossilized bed.
On May 29, 2025, the Praid Salt Mine was completely flooded after the Corund stream flow increased more than 100 times, causing about 7 million cubic meters of ultra- saline water to enter the galleries. The aftermath triggered a major crisis: the resilient structure of one of Europe's largest salt ponds was compromised, dozens of people were urgently evacuated and 50 000 people living downstream were left without clean drinking water. What's more, there is an imminent risk that the entire floor of the old mine could cave in, threatening homes and tourist attractions in the area. The disaster is coupled with a severe economic impact, with 45 households at risk due to soil contamination, the destruction of the tourist area vital for the local economy and the allocation of 300 million RON by the government for damages, including the activation of the European Solidarity Mechanism.
FACIAS calls on the prosecutors to launch an urgent investigation to identify and hold criminally liable all those whose decisions and inactions are responsible for the huge disaster and the effects it will continue to have. The state has an obligation to prevent, not just to repair, and passivity and opaqueness in risk management are serious forms of abuse of citizens. FACIAS will monitor the investigation and continue to act to protect citizens from the consequences of institutional incompetence and negligence.