Tragedy at Playa de Palma, the most visited tourist resort on the island of Palma de Mallorca, due to the collapse of one of the most famous clubs on the coast, the Medusa Beach Club, in Calle Cartago. The venue with restaurant and chill out terrace on the seafront of Playa de Palma, located on two levels, collapsed for reasons currently under investigation, overwhelming the customers and workers who crowded the rooms and terrace at the time of peak attendance. At least 4 victims and 27 injured, four of whom are in serious condition, according to the still not definitive toll from the emergency services. At the moment there are no Italians among the people involved in the collapse. “It was a sharp noise, like a bomb”, the testimony of Javier, one of the inhabitants of the area. The place, according to various residents, had been renovated “a couple of years ago”.
Regarding the dynamics, according to the reconstruction of the firefighters, it seems that the terrace on the first floor collapsed, probably due to the excessive weight, by three or four meters and fell onto a vault.
The collapsed part, which caused the implosion of the building, which sank to the basement of the building, was the one used as a chill out, according to an initial reconstruction by the firefighters. “The collapse was very rapid and very violent,” said Raul Pursnani, owner of the Moda Meena shop, next to the Medusa Beach Club, reported by various media, including El Pais. Visibly shaken, he had no words to describe what had happened. “It’s very sad, there were a lot of people eating and many dancing, they were on holiday and look now at the tragedy!” he added. Among the victims, Abdulaye Diop, the young Senegalese hero who in December 2017, together with his friend Oumar M’bengue, did not hesitate to jump into the sea to save a swimmer on the verge of drowning, off the coast of Playa de Palma. At the time, Abdulaye and Oumar worked as doormen at the Black Magic nightclub.
Thanks to the young Senegalese’s quick wit, the man in difficulty was brought safely to shore. Unfortunately this evening his was the first body to be identified by the medical examiner who arrived on site together with the fire brigade teams, with the emergency services ambulances, busy saving the survivors from the rubble. “90% of the time there are no other people under the rubble,” the rescue services told ANSA. The causes that caused the collapse of the structure and into which the Palma de Mallorca court has opened an investigation are still unclear. Mayor Jaime Martinez, who rushed to the scene, declared three days of mourning in the municipality.
