In Majorca, at least four dead in the collapse of a restaurant

“There are four dead and 21 injured to varying degrees” following the collapse of a restaurant on the island of Majorca in Spain, a spokesperson for the archipelago’s emergency services told AFP on Thursday, May 23. Some of the injured are in serious condition and people of “several nationalities” are among the victims, she said, without being able to give more details.

The tragedy occurred at the end of the day in the tourist area of ​​Playa de Palma in the south of Palma de Mallorca. “The roof of a two-story building” housing a restaurant, collapsed, explained the spokesperson for the emergency services. Several firefighters, Palma police officers and ambulances went to the scene, according to the same source.

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. Rescue services “continue to work on site” to check if victims are not still trapped under the rubble, they specified in a message published on the social network X.

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. In a message on X, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said “to closely follow the consequences of the terrible collapse on Palma beach”.