The tragedy occurred in an area very popular with tourists. Four people died and sixteen others injured Thursday in the collapse of a restaurant located on the popular tourist island of Mallorca in the Spanish Balearic archipelago, emergency services said. “There are four dead and 16 injured,” a spokesperson for the archipelago’s emergency services told AFP on Friday morning.
The emergency services indicated overnight on the social network the capital of the island of Majorca. Rescue services searched through the rubble for part of the night for fear that other victims might have been trapped before ending the search.
People of “several nationalities” are among the victims, said a spokesperson for the archipelago’s emergency services, without being able to give further details. “What we can indicate is that the majority (of the victims) are foreigners and not residents of Palma,” said Eder García, Palma fire chief. According to Ultima Hora, among the victims are three women, two Germans aged around 20 and 30 and a Spanish woman aged 23, and a Senegalese man aged 44.
Millions of tourists in 2023
The Balearic Islands, located in the Mediterranean Sea and known for their crystal clear waters and beaches, are the second most touristy region in Spain after Catalonia. In 2023, they welcomed more than 14 million tourists, according to official figures.
The archipelago, of which Majorca is the main island, is particularly popular with German and British tourists. The tragedy occurred at the end of the day in the tourist area of Playa de Palma when “the roof of a two-story building” housing a restaurant collapsed, explained the spokesperson for the emergency services. This area is located south of Palma de Mallorca, the capital of the island of Mallorca.
The cause of the disaster unknown
Many firefighters were deployed on the scene while ambulances transported the injured to the hospital, an AFP photographer noted on site. The emergency services “continue to work on site” to check if any victims are not still trapped under the rubble, they said in a message published on the social network first aiders to work.
The reasons for the collapse of this restaurant, located on Cartago Street in Playa de Palma, are currently unknown, but according to witnesses cited by local media, the roof collapsed on part of the first floor. This area was very busy at the end of the day when the tourist season is already in full swing in the Balearic Islands, an archipelago also including the islands of Ibiza, Menorca and Formentera.
In a message on X, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said he was “closely following the consequences of the terrible collapse on Palma beach”. The socialist leader also “presented his condolences to the families of the deceased” and offered “all the necessary means and personnel” from the central State to help the regional authorities in the management of this accident.
