A club collapsed on Playa de Palma in Mallorca on Thursday evening. Four people died, including two German women. 16 other people were injured. All developments in the ticker.
Tuesday, May 28th, 12:07 p.m.: Five days after the fatal terrace collapse on Playa de Palma, Palma’s mayor Jaime Martínez stated at a press conference that the Medusa Beach Club did not have a license to operate the terrace. The use of the upper floor was therefore illegal. This is reported by the “Mallorca-Zeitung”. The building even failed an inspection in 2023.
Investigations confirm that excessive loading of the terrace caused it to collapse. “We assume that there were 21 people on the first floor at the time of the accident,” said Martínez. Tables placed together may have caused the collapse.
Four people were killed in the collapse, including two German vacationers. There is currently one victim in the hospital, said the mayor. There were also three Germans among the 14 injured.
6:53 p.m.: “We have been running the restaurant for 25 years, the terrace for twelve years. Nothing is illegal there,” says Christian A. about the collapse of the Medusa Beach Club on Mallorca. He is the tenant of the location where the terrible accident happened on Thursday. He says he rushed to the scene of the accident as soon as he heard about it and even turned off the gas in the kitchen.
“I’m in the store myself every day, that could just as easily have happened when I was there,” Christian A. continued to “Bild” and emphasized that he was working with the authorities to find out the cause of the accident to clarify. However, he vehemently denies that the terrace was overcrowded. “There were ten to 15 people on the terrace. There was no dancing either. There is camera footage to prove this.”
However, it is correct that he distributed flyers the day after the accident. “I tried to return to everyday life,” explains the tenant. He feels “shitty. It’s the first time something like this has happened to me. It is an inner emptiness that cannot be described.”
5.32pm: A German couple planning to take a break in Mallorca were struck by tragedy when the Medusa Beach Club collapsed. Four people were killed in the accident on Thursday, including the German holidaymaker Jessica from Marpingen in the Saarland district of St. Wendel.
As “RTL” reports, Jessica was on a short trip to the Spanish island with her husband Thorsten T. to recover from the strain of the flood response in Germany. Her two children, aged three and six, stayed with their grandparents.
Thorsten T. was injured in the accident and has been in the St. Wendel hospital since his return to Germany. “He is in a terrible state, he is also being treated in hospital for his head injuries, it is all a complete disaster,” his uncle told RTL. Thorsten’s brother is with him to support him, while his mother-in-law is looking after the children.
The search for those responsible for the collapse is in full swing. Investigators would check whether all structural changes had been approved by the authorities and how the collapse could have occurred. The police should already have a video evidence. In an official statement on Instagram, the club said: “We will do everything in our power and work with the authorities to understand everything that has happened. We at Medusa Beach would like to express our sincerest condolences to the families of the victims.”
10.50 a.m.: One of the victims of the restaurant collapse in Mallorca is a woman from Saarland. A spokesman for the police situation center in Saarbrücken confirmed corresponding media reports on Sunday.
The 31-year-old from Marpingen in the St. Wendel district died in the accident on Thursday evening, said the spokesman. The woman is the mother of two children. The spokesman did not provide any further details. Spanish police initially reported the woman’s age as 30.
Sunday, May 26th, 9:00 a.m.: As the “Mallorca Zeitung” reports, there are said to have been inconsistencies in the structural work of the collapsed restaurant building several years ago. According to the newspaper, the city administration initiated a sanction procedure for “urban planning violations” in 2020 – although the construction measures responsible for the procedure were already identified in 2013.
Afterwards, further construction work is said to have been carried out on the roof, the legality of which is currently the subject of further investigations. According to the report, the last renovation took place in 2021 after two neighboring buildings were combined to form the current restaurant in 2018.
According to the “Mallorca Zeitung”, there are also inconsistencies with the permits. According to the report, there should be no notes about the use of the roof terrace for activities for the collapsed building.
Saturday, May 25th, 2:44 p.m.: Despite the events, the owner of the Medusa Beach Club is said to have already distributed flyers for his other restaurant on Friday. This is just 400 meters from Medusa Beach Club. “Bild” reports on this.
Four people died when the club collapsed. However, the operator did not want to comment further. “I’ll clarify that with the relatives,” he told Bild.
6.15 p.m.: In order to clarify the restaurant collapse in Mallorca, according to authorities, all permits for structural changes as well as all operating licenses for the restaurant are already being examined. “We check whether everything is OK. And if not, we will find out why,” Regional Minister of Urban Planning Óscar Fidalgo was quoted as saying by the regional newspaper “Diario de Mallorca”. “With this and with the reports from the security forces on site, it will be possible to determine the causes of the accident,” he promised.
There was intensive discussion on Friday about possible structural defects on the Mediterranean island. It is speculated that perhaps the balcony terrace of the Medusa Beach Club on the first floor, which according to witnesses was the first to collapse, was accessed by too many people at the same time. An initial inspection showed that overloading on the first floor was a possible cause of the collapse, said Palma’s fire chief Eder García.
Meanwhile, Fidalgo did not want to participate in speculation about the cause of the collapse. “We are looking at everything. But I cannot make any assumptions with the data we have at the moment,” said the minister. The newspaper “Última Hora” reported, citing the authorities, that the building had recently undergone a structural inspection. This found “minor problems that did not affect the structure.” However, the balcony terrace was classified as “not accessible,” the paper wrote.
5:34 p.m.: The “Der Westen” portal spoke to an employee of the Medusa Beach Club. She has been in Mallorca for seven years and wanted to start her third season at the club on Thursday evening. It was her first day. “I was standing down on the right side and saw exactly how the ceiling suddenly fell down,” explains the woman. The upper floor had only been opened a few days earlier. The restaurant there is “everything has been newly done, very fancy”. After the building collapsed, the employee fled outside to the promenade.
5:22 p.m.: On Friday, Johannes M., creator and director at Medusa Beach Club Mallorca, commented on the collapse of the restaurant on Facebook. He “put a lot of strength, love and energy into the store.” His thoughts are with the families of the deceased, with all the injured, employees and friends who had to witness the accident. “My heart has been burning since yesterday!”
3:50 p.m.: Ballermann singer Ikke Hüftgold was shocked after the collapse of the Medusa Beach Club, but was not surprised that something like this had happened. Although we still have to wait for the report, “It is an open secret that in Mallorca in particular the regulations regarding construction have been flouted in recent decades,” the singer told “t-online”. Many buildings were built without approval from the authorities.
This also affects well-known locations on Ballermann, such as the Megapark. For this reason, he is no longer allowed to use the upper floors, said the 47-year-old. “In addition, there are many dilapidated houses around the playa that have not been invested in for a long time.
3:24 p.m.: The deputy mayor of Palma de Mallorca, Javi Bonet, said the two Germans killed were on vacation in Mallorca. According to police reports, the Spanish woman worked in the restaurant, and the Senegalese man had also lived on the island for years, according to local media reports.
16 people were injured in the accident. Seven people were “very seriously” and nine “seriously” injured, the rescue service said in online service X. They were taken to various hospitals in the island’s capital, Palma. Eight injured people, all Dutch, were still being treated in hospital on Friday, Palma Mayor Antonio Jiménez said. They are out of danger.
Fire Chief Eder García said the debris broke through the ground floor and fell into the basement bar, “where we found most of the victims.” The cause of the accident is still being investigated, but there are indications that the terrace on the first floor was overloaded. Experts who examined the scene of the accident on Friday should determine more details.
11.35 a.m.: It is gradually becoming clearer what could have caused the disaster at the Medusa Beach Club. The local fire chief said an initial review showed congestion on the first floor was a possible cause of the collapse. This is consistent with eyewitness reports. Accordingly, several guests were dancing in the chill-out area on the upper floor of the restaurant when the terrace collapsed under their feet. The rubble fell on the ground floor and broke straight into the basement.
Many guests also had dinner there, reports “El Pais”, citing eyewitnesses. It is said that panic immediately broke out among the guests. Many guests called for help and dozens of emergency calls were immediately received. It is still unclear why the ground collapsed under the dancers’ feet.
09.41 a.m.: Among the four fatalities in the building collapse on Mallorca are two German holidaymakers aged 20 and 30. A 23-year-old Spanish woman and a 44-year-old man from Senegal also died in the accident on Thursday evening, police in Palma announced on Friday.
8:25 a.m.: A firefighter in Mallorca spoke to the Spanish newspaper “Última Hora” about a “nightmarish” scene. When he arrived at the scene of the accident, people were standing around the rubble on the ground floor of the building, crying and screaming.
8:04 a.m.: According to information from the emergency services, the four dead are a Senegalese man (see entry at 11:15 p.m.) and three people who may have come from England (see entry at 11:43 p.m.). On Friday morning, seven of the injured were in mortal danger, and nine others were seriously injured, the emergency services said in the online service X. They were taken to hospitals.
4:22 a.m.: The newspaper “Ultima Hora” spoke to an immediate neighbor of the Medusa Beach Club. Javier reports: “It sounded like a bomb.” A friend further told the paper: “We don’t know if there were people upstairs.” Several residents report that the club was renovated “a few years ago,” the part that collapsed was used as a relaxation room. The British “Daily Mail” reports that the club only posted a picture on Instagram on Wednesday with the text “New roof terrace”.
3:39 a.m.: After the accident, hundreds of onlookers gathered around the scene. While the emergency services searched for people buried under the rubble, they asked people to be quiet so that they could better hear and locate any shouts or noises from the rubble.
01.40 a.m.: The mayor of Palma, Jaime Martínez, has ordered three days of national mourning in the city due to the collapse of a restaurant in s’Arenal on Thursday afternoon.
12:57 a.m.: There were people of “several nationalities” among the victims, a spokeswoman for the rescue workers told the AFP news agency, without providing any further details. Shortly before midnight, a police spokesman had good news: “With 90 percent certainty” there were no more victims under the rubble, he told the German Press Agency (dpa) when asked. It is currently estimated that there are ten people under the rubble.
00.22 a.m.: Around midnight, police, fire and emergency service units were still on duty at the scene of the accident. Psychologists were still caring for victims and witnesses of the tragedy. Up to 1,000 people gathered in front of the scene of the accident immediately after the collapse, reported the regional newspapers “Diario de Mallorca” and “Última Hora”. Relatives of employees feared for their loved ones.
Friday, May 24th, 00:01: The Prime Minister of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, writes on to help with the rescue work. He also expressed his condolences for the relatives of the victims.
11.43 p.m.: According to initial information, two more dead are the club’s managing director and a waitress. Two deaths have been officially confirmed so far – but according to consistent reports, at least four people died in the accident.
11.35 p.m.: According to the newspaper “Diario de Mallorca”, Mayor Jaime Martínez and Deputy Mayor Javier Bonet are already at the scene of the accident. The current Prime Minister Marga Prohens and the Spanish Parliament Speaker Francina Armengol, her predecessor, reported on X.
“I am following the last hours of the collapse on Playa de Palma with concern,” writes Prohens and encourages the families of those injured and killed.
Armengol followed suit. “All my love goes out to the emergency teams who are already working to rescue victims and save lives, and all my love goes out to those affected,” she wrote.
11:21 p.m.: A reporter from the “Mallorca-Zeitung” reports that life continues as normal around the scene of the incident. The bars are still open and people are partying locally.
However, many onlookers are said to have gathered around the scene of the accident and watched the rescue workers at work. At around 10 p.m., the rescue workers set up a kind of separating screen with a huge tarpaulin in a street behind the scene of the accident. The injured are apparently being treated there.
11:15 p.m.: One of the victims is said to be Abdoulaye D. This is what “Ultima Hora” reports. The Senegalese, a bouncer at the Black Magic discotheque, became known in 2017 after he saved a swimmer.
He is also said to have been friends with the “Goodbye Germany” emigrants Caro and Andreas Robens. “It’s crazy. He works where there are fights every day and nothing happens. And then he just goes to Medusa to eat and then the ceiling collapses on him,” Caro Robens told the “Mallorca-Zeitung”
Meanwhile, Playa de Palma is completely closed between Balnearios 1 and 2, including on the beach. There are dozens of fire, police and ambulance emergency vehicles on site.
11.11 p.m.: According to the “Mallorca-Zeitung”, an eyewitness reported that the top floor of the Medusa Beach Club had collapsed. As a result, the other floors collapsed. Several guests were buried under the rubble. There is said to have been a loud bang when it collapsed. A friend she was traveling with tried to revive a person, but without success.
Other eyewitnesses, German vacationers from North Rhine-Westphalia, said they saw a young man being cared for by rescue workers. After around 15 minutes, the man’s mother and aunt came to the scene of the accident. They also saw numerous injured people. There were also some Germans among them.
11:05 p.m.: The German Press Agency has now confirmed at least four dead and around 30 injured. Seven of them are said to be seriously injured. This was announced by the emergency services. The accident is said to have occurred around 8 p.m., other sources say it happened at 8:30 p.m.
10:52 p.m.: The Spanish newspaper “Diario de Mallorca” reports around 30 injured and four dead. Neighbors are said to have immediately informed the emergency services when the building collapsed. A large contingent of police and rescue workers is on site. It is not yet known why the building collapsed. Initial suspicions suggest that the first floor may have collapsed and with it the ground floor, which could no longer bear the weight. The two floors are said to have crashed into the basement.
10:47 p.m.: According to media reports, four people are said to have died when the building collapsed. As “Bild” reports, another 20 people are said to be injured. Up to ten people could still be stuck under the rubble.
First report, 10:36 p.m.: A two-story building has collapsed on the popular Playa de Palma on Mallorca. This is said to be the Medusa Beach Club, as the “Mallorca-Zeitung” reports. According to the police, at least eight people are said to be injured. There is talk of two or more deaths. Other people are still trapped in the rubble.
