Details of victims emerge after four killed in ‘nightmarish’ Mallorca building collapse
Take Spanish On Picture: Ap Away From Collapsed Injured Building Mallorca In Island A Playa People That Mediterranean Of The Palma Medics De
At least four people have been killed and about 21 people injured after a building collapsed on a beachfront in Mallorca on Thursday, emergency services said.
Rescue workers were trying to reach several people who were believed to be trapped by the collapse, which happened at about 8.30pm local time (7.30pm Irish time) at the two-storey Medusa Beach Club in Palma de Mallorca.
“There are four dead and around 21 injured,” an emergency services spokeswoman said, adding that “several nationalities” were among the victims.
Police this morning confirmed the four dead are a Spanish woman, a Senegalese man and two German women believed to be on holiday in Majorca.
A spokesman for Majorca’s National Police said in its first official statement so far: “It has been possible to identify the four people who died, three women and one man.
“They are a 23-year-old Spanish worker, two German women in their 20s and 30s and a 44-year-old Senegalese man.
“The Homicide Group and the Scientific Police are identifying the 16 people injured to varying degrees.
“This morning, aerial and forensic police officers were on the scene to collaborate with firefighters and town planning experts from Palma city council in order to clarify the incident.”
The Senegalese man has been named as Abdoulaye Diop, a Senegalese migrant who worked as a doorman and had stopped at Medusa Beach Club after leaving the gym to have a coffee.
Abdoulaye and a friend called Oumar M’bengue made headlines in Majorca by rescuing a middle-aged Spaniard who was in difficulties in the sea at Playa de Palma in December 2017.
Palma de Mallorca is a popular tourist resort and is the capital of the western Mediterranean island. May is the beginning of the tourist season in the area.
An Irish businessman living close to where a building collapsed in Mallorca has said the disaster has shocked the local community.
John Kavanagh from Dublin owns Finnegan’s Can Pastilla pub just a mile from the Medusa Beach Club in Palma where the tragedy occurred.
Mr Kavanagh said the area where the incident happened is mostly populated with Germans and has a very small percentage of Irish people.
“I’m hopeful that the chances of any Irish people being there is at best, 1%, it’s an area populated mostly with Germans” he told the .
“It is possible that some Irish were involved, but I have heard nothing so far.
“I’m very well known in the area, the building is not far from here, and the news is emerging now, and we are watching it unfold, it really has shocked people. I would be one of the first to hear if one of our own was involved.
"So far, thankfully I’ve heard nothing like that, but it doesn’t really matter where you are from, it’s an awful thing to happen.
“Your instinct obviously is always ‘do I know anyone there?’ Thankfully so far, I don’t. But your heart would go out to those involved.
“The building and safety standards here are very good, but that was a holiday area, so you are talking about a place where people are packed into.
“People normally come to me when a tragedy or incident happens among the Irish. It’s a small community here and we all know each other.
"So far, no Irish have been involved but our thoughts are with all those who are involved and their families.”
A spokesperson from the Department of Foreign Affairs stated: "We are aware of reports of an incident and stand ready to provide consular assistance."
One firefighter described a “nightmarish” scene to the newspaper Ultima Hora, saying that when he arrived, people were crying and screaming around the rubble piled up on the ground floor.
Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, said he was monitoring the situation closely and his government would be ready to deploy “all the means and personnel that are necessary”.
Marga Prohens, the president of the Balearic Islands, said she was shocked to hear of the 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,” Prohens wrote on X.
The exact cause of the structural failure is unknown and is under investigation.
Although initial reports pointed to a false ceiling having collapsed, it later emerged the first floor had collapsed on the ground floor.
The local mayor, Jaime Martínez, and deputy mayor, Javier Bonet, arrived at the scene to coordinate rescue efforts and provide support to the affected families, the TSC website reported.
Authorities have urged anyone with information related to the incident to come forward and assist in the investigation.
Mallorca is one of Spain’s Balearic Islands, which more than 14 million tourists visited last year, according to official figures.