Tremors led to school evacuation

THE Palma Fire Brigade had to evacuate 300 young children from a central school near to the railway and underground construction works yesterday, after pupils and teachers felt the school tremble. The tremors were felt yesterday morning at the Santa Isabel school and all pupils, aged between 3 and 11 years old, were sent home. The emergency services were contacted at around midday and were told that the reasons for the tremors were unknown. It could be due to an earthquake, reaching 3.7 on the richter scale, which hit Argelia yesterday early morning, said a spokesperson from the Balearic Government. The shakes have nothing to do with the construction work which is taking place very near to the school, where ground is being excavating to make way for train lines. Engineers and architects from Palma city council were still assessing the building yesterday to determine the cause of the incident, and also to ensure that the building was safe to use in the future. These experts have confirmed that a former crack in the wall has been made worse and therefore they have installed sensors to keep an eye on the damage. More technical specialists will visit the school this Monday at 8am to see if there is any further problems, which is putting the safety of the pupils and teachers in jeopardy. However, the condition of the building is now safe, they added.