Rain and old age blamed for building collapse

Yesterday morning fire crews and engineers returned to the scene of the building which collapsed in Palma on Tuesday night to shore up the building and investigate how much structural damage has been caused to adjoining properties. Calle San Magin resembled a war zone at first light and engineers said that the cause of the collapse was probably due to the poor condition of the 50-year-old property and the recent heavy rains. The elderly neighbour, clearly upset by the whole ordeal, and her son who were evacuated on Tuesday night, were yesterday allowed to return home. Teams of police and fire men set to work searching amidst the rubble in order to confirm that nobody has been trapped underneath, while teams of builders and police started clearing up the street so it could be re-opened to traffic. The vehicles damaged during the collapse, one of which was parked directly in front of the abandoned building and was completely destroyed, were towed away as the morning developed. It was also revealed yesterday by police that the building had suffered by fire in 1997 which had weakened the structure even more. It had apparently been recently bought by a German who had boarded up the front and repaired the roof.