A tragic incident occurred at the Playa de Palma in Mallorca, where the first floor of a building housing a restaurant and cocktail bar collapsed, leading to a devastating scene. The collapse resulted in four fatalities and sixteen serious injuries, with seven of the injured in critical condition.
The Medusa Beach Club, located at Calle Cartago 36, experienced the collapse shortly after 8:20 PM. Reports indicate that some guests were dancing on the terrace when it suddenly gave way. The debris from the collapsed terrace crashed through the ground floor restaurant, where many patrons were dining, and further buried individuals in the basement.
Spanish media reported that both the restaurant and the cocktail bar were packed at the time of the collapse. Following the incident, up to a thousand people gathered at the scene. “Within a minute, dozens of emergency calls were made,” said a police spokesperson to the regional newspaper “Última Hora.”
The local police requested silence from onlookers to allow rescue teams to hear the voices of any survivors trapped in the rubble. The first confirmed fatality was a man from Senegal, according to Spanish media.
Early on Friday morning, rescue teams continued their search for victims under the debris. A police spokesperson stated shortly before midnight that there was a “90 percent certainty” that no more victims remained under the rubble. However, the search would continue as long as necessary, potentially for many hours. Psychologists and medical personnel were on site throughout the night to support the lightly injured, relatives of the victims, and visibly shaken witnesses.
According to Mallorcan authorities, the fatalities included one man and three women. Palma’s fire chief, Eder García, mentioned that most of the affected individuals appeared to be of various nationalities and of middle age. One of the deceased women was reported to be an employee of the establishment, as reported by “El País” and other media.
The exact number of individuals present in the building at the time of the collapse is unknown. Fire Chief García suggested that the terrace might have been overcrowded, causing it to give way under the weight of the guests. An initial assessment indicated that the overload of the first floor was a likely cause of the collapse.
Adjacent bars, restaurants, and residential buildings were evacuated due to the risk of further collapses. Residents will be allowed to return to their homes only after structural inspections are completed, according to the “Mallorca Zeitung.”
Javier, a local resident, was nearby when the building on Cartago Street collapsed quickly and loudly, describing the noise as “sounding like a bomb.” He told a reporter from “Última Hora” that the building had been renovated just a few years ago.
Regional President Marga Prohens, Palma’s Mayor Jaime Martínez, and First Deputy Mayor Javier Bonet visited the site of the tragedy and the rescue operations. Mayor Martínez declared a three-day mourning period.
Since the start of the party season in late April, Playa de Palma has been filled with tourists, with the Ballermann area being particularly popular among German visitors.
