At least four people have died in Palma as a result of the collapse of a building that housed a restaurant and music bar in one of the main tourist areas of the Balearic capital, Platja de Palma. The interior of the Medussa Beach Club restaurant has collapsed and only the façade of the establishment has remained standing, located on the beachfront, in an area where there were many people on vacation at that time, so the event has caused great alarm among the tourists who were there.
The emergency services have confirmed that, in addition to the four deaths, another 16 people have been injured to various degrees, at least seven of them seriously and nine critical, so it is not ruled out that the number of deaths could increase with the passing of the hours. The severity of the event and the number of deaths and injuries has caused the island’s authorities to activate the psychological care protocol for those affected and sent several psychologists to care for the injured affected by the collapse.
The fall of the property has generated an enormous roar in the area and a great initial alarm among tourists and neighbors, who were the first to notify the collapse to the emergency services when they heard the noise and the screams of the injured people. The event occurred this Thursday around 8:30 p.m., at which time numerous people were in this area, which is very crowded because Mallorca is already in the middle of the tourist season.
Most of the hotels and bars in Platja de Palma are now open and occupancy is very high. The causes of the collapse are not known at this time, and are currently being investigated, but the first analyzes point to a possible overweight that could have first collapsed one of the terraces of the building and then this collapse has dragged the rest of the property down. that only the façade has remained standing although it is feared that it could fall as a result of the debris removal work.
Numerous emergency services are working throughout the night to try to rescue people who have been trapped in the rubble. Several fire crews from Mallorca and Palma have mounted an extensive operation to carry out the clearing work without risking those trapped since the possibility that the entire building could finally collapse was not ruled out.
The emergency services have deployed all the ambulances that were available at that time since the event was given absolute priority. Some of the injured, the minor ones, have been treated in the same area as the incident. Others have been transferred to hospital centers in Mallorca where some have been admitted. The scientific police have traveled to the scene to carry out initial investigations and determine what caused the interior of the building to completely collapse.
The place where the event occurred is a tourist area frequented by young people, basically German citizens. It is an area full of hotels and bars that at that time was full of people on the street. The emergency services have not detailed the identity of the deceased, but it is not ruled out that they are tourists who were spending their holidays on the island, although it is also possible that one of them was one of the restaurant’s employees.
Late in the afternoon, the mayor of Palma, Jaime Martínez, traveled to the area to inquire about the injured and the causes of the accident. He has been accompanied by the Deputy Mayor of Tourism, Javier Bonet, who has been informed of the event by the emergency services who were at the scene of the event. The president of the Government, Marga Prohens, has lamented the event on her Twitter account and has shown her affection for the victims.
