Four people were killed when a fully occupied restaurant collapsed on Playa de Palma in Mallorca. Two Germans were among them, police said. Many of the injured are in a critical condition.
Four people were killed when a fully occupied restaurant collapsed on Playa de Palma in Mallorca – including two women from Germany. The German victims were aged 20 and 30, the police in Palma said. They were presumably holidaymakers, they said in response to an inquiry.
In addition, a 23-year-old Spanish woman and a 44-year-old man from Senegal were killed in the accident on Thursday evening. One of the women who died worked in the bar, the newspaper El País and other media had previously written.
Eyewitnesses: First floor crashed into basement
Police on the Mediterranean island, which is very popular with German holidaymakers, said 16 injured people were taken to hospitals. Seven of the injured were in a critical condition. The other nine were all seriously injured, but their lives were not in danger.
The accident happened right on the beach, just a few streets away from the well-known party venues “Megapark” and “Bierkönig”. The building of the “Medusa Beach Club” collapsed at around 8.30 p.m. The first floor collapsed immediately down to the basement, where many guests had been eating dinner, reported El País and other media, citing eyewitnesses.
Authorities suspect overload
An initial investigation has shown that overloading of the first floor was a possible cause of the collapse, said fire chief García. The Balearic public broadcaster IB3 reported that people were dancing on a terrace when it collapsed and fell to a floor below.
Early in the morning, emergency services were still feverishly searching for victims under the rubble. The search has now been called off, reports Sebastian Kisters, ARDCorrespondent in Madrid. The fire department is certain that there are no more people lying under the rubble in the basement.
Sanchez expresses condolences to victims
Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez expressed his condolences to the families of the victims on X, formerly Twitter, and stressed: “I am closely following the consequences of the terrible collapse on Palma beach.”
After the start of the party season, Playa de Palma has been full of tourists again since the end of April, most of whom – unlike the visitors to the English party capital Magaluf west of Palma – come from Germany.