Building collapses in Spain’s Balearic Islands, killing at least 4 people
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Ambulance and firefighters vehicles are seen after a two-storey building collapsed in Playa de Palma.
PHOTO: AFP
MADRID - A two-storey building collapsed on the beach in Palma de Mallorca on May 23, killing at least four people and injuring 16 people in the tourism hot spot in Spain’s Balearic Islands, said the country’s national police.
Seven people were injured “very seriously” and nine were seriously injured, emergency services said on social media platform X. They were taken to various hospitals in Palma.
Emergency crews are finalising search-and-rescue operations and securing the area, a spokesman for the local police told radio station RNE around midnight, local time (6am, Singapore time).
“That is why now we ask (for your) silence because we need silence to see if we hear someone,” he said, adding that he could not rule out that someone was still trapped.
“The terrace has come down, probably due to excessive weight,” he said, adding that the causes are still being investigated.
The first calls came in around 8pm, he said.
Firefighters and police forces rushed to the scene, emergency services said on X, adding that some psychologists had been called in.
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on X: “I am closely following the consequences of the terrible collapse that occurred on the beach of Palma.”
Mr Sanchez said he had spoken to local and regional authorities, adding that the government is ready to help “with all the means and troops that are necessary”.
“I want to send my condolences to the families of the deceased and my wish for a speedy recovery to the injured,” he said.
Spanish state-owned broadcaster TVE showed firefighters working to clear areas of the Medusa Beach Club in Palma around 11.30pm local time, and ambulances on the scene.
Local media reported that the disaster took place at a restaurant in the Playa de Palma area to the south of the island’s capital Palma de Mallorca just as the high tourist season was in full swing.
Mallorca is one of Spain’s Balearic Islands, whose pristine waters and beaches attract more tourists than all the Spanish regions, after Catalonia.
More than 14 million tourists visited the islands in 2023, according to official figures. REUTERS, AFP
