A club in Majorca did not have a licence to serve customers on its rooftop terrace that collapsed, killing four people, a top official on the Spanish island says.
Excess weight and poorly executed construction work seem to have contributed to the first-floor terrace at the Medusa Beach Club in the capital Palma caving in last Thursday, according to mayor Jaime Martinez Llabres.
The rooftop of the restaurant and bar is believed to have come down under the weight of 21 people.
“The basement had a licence to operate as a music bar, the ground floor had a restaurant licence but the first floor wasn’t licenced for any activity, nor authorised to use the terrace,” the mayor was quoting by the AFP news agency as saying.
No building permit had been submitted for the renovation work carried out on the terrace, he was reported as saying.
He said a preliminary investigation showed the accident was caused by the excessive weight of a large number of people on the rooftop.
Firefighters said the club usually spread its tables across the terrace.
But that night it had set a larger table for a group of 12 Dutch tourists, which they believe may have caused the collapse.
“There should have been no activity on top (of the building),” fire department spokesman Eder Garcia said.
“There shouldn’t have been anyone up there.”
Pic: AP
Two German women, aged 20 and 30, a 33-year-old Spanish woman and a 44-year-old Senegalese man died when the terrace buckled and came down at the venue in Palma – a tourist hotspot.
The Spanish woman worked in the club, authorities said. A further 16 people were injured in the incident.
Pictures showed multiple fire engines at the scene as emergency services worked to rescue people from under the rubble.
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The terrace damaged both the street-level floor as well as the basement, where a disco was.
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Mr Garcia said 21 people were on the terrace at the time of the tragedy.
The building was located near the beach in an area that was packed with tourists.