Emergency teams have observed a minute's silence at ground zero of the landslide in Playa de Palma that claimed the lives of four people on Thursday. | Youtube Última Hora
An outdated terrace structure and excess weight likely caused the collapse of the Medusa Beach Club in Playa de Palma which killed four people, the fire chief said today. Two German tourists, a Spanish waitress and a Senegalese man were killed when the two-storey restaurant building collapsed on Thursday.
"Investigations are still ongoing, but everything points to a combination of an outdated structure and overweight," Eder Garcia, the chief of Palma de Mallorca's fire department, told reporters. The accident came as the resort prepared for a summer tourism season expected to bring millions of visitors. The German victims were two women aged 20 and 30, the waitress was 23 and the Senegalese man was 44, the council said in a statement.
Timeline in pictures of the building collapse on Playa de Palma.
All the 16 reported injured were Dutch tourists, the council spokesperson said. Eight were still in hospital on Friday and were all out of danger, Palma's mayor said. A spokesperson for Germany's Foreign Ministry said its consulate in Mallorca was in close contact with authorities. "The situation on the ground is still partly unclear," the spokesperson said.
"At this point in time, we unfortunately have to assume that German nationals are among the dead and injured." Police and investigators are at the scene trying to gather as much evidence into the collapse as possible.
Members of the emergency services stood still and silent for a few minutes this morning in memory of the victims. Palma city council has ordered three days of mourning in memory of the victims.
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Given the lack of building regulations and codes this was not unexpected sadly.