A man on the scene when the popular beach club collapsed on the island of Majorca explains what happened during the tragic incident.
Reportedly at about 8:30pm local time last night (23 May), the floor of the two-storey building collapsed and caused people to fall into the basement below, where there were more customers and staff.
Four people have died and 16 are said to be injured as there are fears at least 10 people are trapped in the wreckage of the Medusa Beach Club on Cartago Street in the regional capital Palma de Majorca.
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The spot on the Balearic Island is particularly popular with foreign tourists.
A spokesperson for the local police told media that the beach club’s balcony might have collapsed as a result of excess weight being placed on it. However, they stressed that an exact cause is still being investigated.
Local Santiago Aranda was out walking his dog at the time of the collapse and told La Linterna: “I don’t have any words to describe it. It was an explosion, and we were in the street opposite.”
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He described how ‘some ran in the opposite direction and others towards the dust’ following the collapse. For him, he chose to stay to help ‘get people out’, while he could hear ‘screams, wailing and crying’.
Emergency services rushed to the scene as one firefighter told local paper Ultima Hora that it was ‘nightmarish’ and arrived to find people crying and screaming, stood among piles of rubble.
Pyschologists were also called to the scene in the tourist hotspot to help with those traumatised by last night’s incident.
After being identified by police, the Majorca Daily Bulletin has now named one of the victims as Abdoulaye Diop, a doorman in laya de Palma. It is also reported that two of the four dead were tourists.
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A spokesperson for the UK Foreign Office told LADbible: "We are aware of an incident in Playa de Palma and are in contact with the Spanish authorities. There are currently no reports of British nationals involved but we stand ready to assist British nationals as requested."
President of the Balearic Islands, Marga Prohens, said she was ‘shocked’ by the Majorca building collapse.
“All my affection and warmth to the families of the four people who lost their lives in this tragic incident and wishing the recovery of all the injured,” she said.
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The Spanish prime minister Pedro Sanchez also wrote on X: “I am closely following the consequences of the terrible landslide that occurred on the beach of Palma.”
He explained he had spoken with Prohens and the city’s mayor to convey the ‘willingness of the Government of Spain to collaborate with all the means and personnel that are necessary’.
“I want to send my condolences to the families of the deceased and my wishes for a speedy recovery to the injured,” Sanchez added.
Featured Image Credit: JAIME REINA/AFP via Getty ImagesTopics: World News, Health, Travel
Jess Battison