Four dead, many injured after popular two-storey Majorca bar collapses

Friday, May 24, 2024 - Four people have died with a search and rescue operation underway following the collapse of a nightclub at a Majorcan beach resort last night, May 23.

Emergency responders including police and firefighters raced to the scene of the incident at 8.30pm local time, identified as the Medusa Beach Club in Playa de Palma, Spain.

Local reports also suggest the number of deaths could rise with 16 people reportedly injured confirmed by police.

A spokesman for a regional emergency response coordination centre confirmed last night around 11pm local time that four people had died and later confirmed that 16 were now injured, rather than the 21 previously claimed.

Emergency responders are still at the scene. Seven of the injured are said to be “critical".

The Majorca nightclub and restaurant unveiled a new rooftop bar just one day before the collapse.

A terrace of the two-storey building is believed to have collapsed through to the basement of the building, which has left only the façade still standing, local media said.

Just a day before the collapse, the Medusa Beach Club social media team on Instagram posted a photo of their new rooftop bar with the caption: “Totally different. New rooftop.”

Local media reported that three women and one man made up the deceased, and that two of them worked at the club.

One of the people killed has been named locally as Abdoulaye Diop, a Senegalese migrant living in Majorca and working as a nightclub doorman who in 2017 saved a man who was drowning in the sea at Playa de Palma.

Two other victims are thought to be young girls on holiday, while the fourth is said to have been a builder working on the sight.

Four of the injured are said to be “very serious” with reports pointing to the victims being crushed under rubble.

A local court has sent a forensic expert to the scene.

Before four deaths were announced, Majorcan authorities stated: "It is confirmed two people have died after the collapse of a building in Calle Cartago de la playa de Palma. It is also confirmed that there are 12 to 14 people injured to differing degrees. Psychologists have been brought in."

According to local media outlet Ser, a worker in a fashion store next to the collapsed store said: "Everything fell, completely. It was very loud and there were a lot of people inside."

He added that "the top floor fell".