Tragedy struck the popular tourist destination of Mallorca, Spain when part of the Medusa Beach Club, a beachside restaurant in one of the busiest areas of the regional capital Palma de Mallorca, collapsed at about 8:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 23, 2024. The collapse resulted in the deaths of four individuals and left 16 others injured.
The victims were identified as two German women, aged 20 and 30, a 33-year-old Spanish woman who worked at the club, and a 44-year-old Senegalese man. Sixteen others were injured, with five in serious condition. Fortunately, officials later confirmed that the lives of those in serious condition were not in immediate danger. Eleven of the injured were Dutch citizens. The Senegalese man, Abdoulaye Diop was reported to have been in the news in 2017 when he rescued someone drowning in the waters off Majorca.
Palma de Mallorca Mayor Jaime Martínez and fire department spokesman Eder García suggested that the terrace’s excess weight may have caused the collapse. García also noted that the building’s age could have contributed. Local media outlets reported that people were dancing on the terrace at the time, which might have exacerbated the strain on the structure. Some people fell into the basement below, where a disco was located.
Dutch tourists Wessel Roos, 21, and his girlfriend Madelin Muijs, 20, were eating at a grill just a few feet away from the Medusa restaurant when the collapse happened.” We suddenly heard a loud noise,” he said, noting that it wasn’t a massive explosion but enough to signal that something was seriously wrong. “You could feel the ceiling vibrate as it came down. It was utter chaos, with people screaming everywhere. Initially, I thought there had been a shooting. Then I saw that the ceiling had completely collapsed, and the ground floor was also heavily damaged,” Roos told the BBC.
A firefighter described the scene as “nightmarish” to a local newspaper. He noted that upon arrival, his team found people crying and screaming amidst the rubble. Local resident Francisco Nogales also reported hearing cries and screams from those trapped under the debris.
Santiago Aranga, walking his dog across the street, described hearing a “boom” that sounded “like a bomb.”People were screaming, crying, and in hysteria,” he added.
Raúl Pursnami, the owner of Moda Meena, a fashion store on Cartago Street beside the restaurant, witnessed the disaster unfold. “I can hardly even talk about it. People were dining, enjoying their vacations, and now this tragedy has struck,” he shared.
The city declared three days of mourning, and a minute of silence was observed at noon on Friday, May 24. As investigations continue, the police and firefighters are working diligently to determine the precise causes of the collapse and prevent future tragedies.
