Overcrowding suspected in deadly restaurant collapse
No fewer than 16 people are in hospital with injuries from Thursday night’s collapse of a crowded restaurant that killed four on the popular Spanish holiday destination of Playa de Palma on the island of Mallorca.
Authorities identified the dead on Friday as two German women, aged 20 and 30, as well as a 23-year-old Spanish woman and a 44-year-old Senegalese man.
Authorities believe the German women were tourists spending holiday on the island.
Seven of the injured were in critical condition as of Friday morning, authorities said.
The remaining nine were all seriously injured but out of life-threatening danger.
One of the women who died worked in the restaurant, according to reports in Spain’s El PaÃs newspaper and other media.
The Playa de Palma area of the island is particularly popular with younger German holidaymakers, who flock to the island during the late spring and summer months.
The Medusa Beach Club building, located directly on the beach, collapsed at around 8:30 pm on Thursday, with the first floor plunging to the basement, where many guests were eating dinner, according to El PaÃs, which cited witnesses.
The neighbouring bars and residential buildings were evacuated due to the risk of collapse and the area was cordoned off.
An initial investigation revealed that the overloading of the second floor was a possible cause of the collapse, said the chief of the local fire brigade, Eder GarcÃ
