The former Gralex quarry in Mont-sur-Marchienne covers 34 hectares. It is now owned by several private owners who are doing everything they can. One of them, Jean-Georges Mathieu, details the measures they have taken to discourage intrusions on the site. Starting with the heavy gate: “Look at the height and the metal spikes. On top of that, we also put three rows of barbed wire. But look… They still go through there. They could already seriously hurt themselves, just by crossing this barrier. But nothing there do”. The owners have also “sown” shards of bottles themselves to make the site less welcoming. The reminder signs of the private aspect and the ban on entering the site do nothing about it either. No more than the hundreds of meters of fences already installed and regularly sheared.
The local police are also familiar with the area. As soon as the weather is a bit warm, dozens of cars are parked near the prohibited entrance to the site. But the police cannot ensure permanence and watch over the place at all times. On June 17, on its Facebook page, the Charleroi Police recalled the ban on access and bathing at the quarry. It is called upon to intervene there regularly to evacuate offenders or unfortunately, like yesterday, to deplore a tragedy. The young man who died yesterday was 19 years old and had come from Brussels. In 2018, a 32-year-old Louviérois also lost his life in similar circumstances, in Mont-sur-Marchienne.
On July 17, a new resident of the district was surprised by the crowds around the quarry, on the Facebook page of the inhabitants of Mont-sur-Marchienne. Under its publication, residents of rue des Carrières, rue de l’Eau d’Heure and rue du Pont-à-Nôle, in their comments, could only deplore and confirm a situation that has existed for a long time, despite the measures taken by the owners and the regular intervention of the police.