Among the four people killed after the building collapsed on Mallorca are two German holidaymakers aged 20 and 30. A 23-year-old Spanish woman and a 44-year-old man from Senegal also died in the accident, police in Palma said on Friday.
After the collapse of a fully occupied restaurant on the Platja (Playa) de Palma, 16 people were reportedly taken to hospital with injuries. Seven were in a critical condition, the remaining nine were all seriously injured but not in danger of dying.
Overloading of the first floor possible cause of collapse
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, according to online reports, many guests were having dinner. An initial investigation showed that the overloading of the first floor was a possible cause of the collapse, said fire chief García. People were dancing on the roof terrace there, reports the public Balearic broadcaster. IB3.
Emergency services were still searching for victims under the rubble early on Friday morning. However, a police spokesman had given good news shortly before midnight: “With 90 percent certainty” there were no more victims under the rubble, he said when asked by the German Press Agency. Nevertheless, they would search for as long as necessary, said an officer. Possibly “for many more hours”.
Javier, a resident of Platja de Palma, was nearby when the building on Carrer de Cartago in Ses Cadenes/S’Arenal collapsed as quickly as a house of cards, but with a loud bang. “It sounded like a bomb,” he told a reporter from the regional newspaper Last HourOther people said the building had only been renovated “a few years ago” and the part of the first floor that collapsed was used as a chill-out area.
Many guests in the restaurant at the time of the collapse
At the time of the collapse, many guests were in the restaurant, which also served as a cocktail bar with live music, media reported. Police, fire and Mallorcan emergency services were quickly on site. The neighboring bars and houses were evacuated due to the risk of collapse and the area was cordoned off. Psychologists and doctors were still caring for the slightly injured, relatives of the victims and visibly shaken witnesses at the scene of the accident hours after the collapse.
Up to 1,000 people had gathered in front of the accident site immediately after the collapse, regional newspapers reported. Relatives of employees feared for their loved ones, onlookers debated the possible causes. The police repeatedly asked the crowd to be quiet so that the rescue teams could hear the voices of possible survivors under the rubble.
The Balearic regional president Marga Prohens, the mayor of Palma, Jaime Martínez, and the first deputy mayor, Javier Bonet, also rushed to the beach to see the scene. Mayor Martínez declared three days of mourning. In Madrid, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez expressed his condolences to the families of the dead on X and stressed: “I am closely following the consequences of the terrible collapse on Palma beach.”