More than 150 people have been evacuated from the Rey Don Jaime hotel on the Spanish holiday island of Mallorca after part of a dining room gave way, causing several injuries
Holidaymakers have been injured and more than 150 people evacuated after part of a Mallorca hotel collapsed.
The incident happened in the popular tourist resort of Santa Ponça with several customers suffering minor injuries and being treated by the health services.
Customers were eating in one of the dining rooms when, for reasons that are being investigated, the ground gave way. The collapse took place at around 9.30pm at the Rey Don Jaime hotel, located at number 4 Gran Vía Puig Major street.
Local media reports four people were injured while in the dining room, which is about 30m-long. Images show the dining room with floor caved in, with tables and chairs having slid sidewards.
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The incident is being investigated by the Civil Guard. It is thought the floor had not been reinforced with mesh and had sunk with age.
Firefighters from the Calvià station, together with ambulances, patrols from the Local Police and the Civil Guard, rushed to the scene to help possible victims. Health workers treated several people with minor injuries and the agents have evacuated about 150 people as a precaution.
It comes after the roof of a hotel in Benidorm collapsed just a few days ago on Easter Sunday, with tourists reporting that they thought a bomb had gone off. The noise of the ceiling crashing down in the restaurant of the Poseidon Palace hotel was so loud that even people in the swimming pool heard it.
Seven holidaymakers including a young boy were injured in the Benidorm incident, but the number of casualties could have been significantly higher as around 400 people were packed into the restaurant only the day before.
“There was a great amount of dust, with people running; it looked like they had planted a bomb,” said one Spanish couple. “In the end we were lucky because in the area where the roof fell it was not full of people.”
And another added: “It was a very tense moment. We arrived at that time to eat and people fled in terror without knowing what was happening.”
The restaurant ceiling collapsed, bringing down a massive amount of debris, plaster-board, broken glass and even parts of the air conditioning at around 2pm on Easter Sunday. The hotel says an in-depth inspection of the installation is being carried out and they are awaiting a technical report from the municipal architect.
The dining room at the Poseidon Palace has been closed and guests are using the restaurant of an adjoining hotel. Tourists said they were grateful the restaurant was not packed.
“There has been no blood, everything was bruising,” said general director of Poseidon Hotels, Pere Joan Devesa, who confirmed the cause had not yet been identified.
The hotel dates back to the 90s so deterioration has not been ruled out. A couple from Murcia said they were in the pool when the incident occurred. “There was a lot of noise and very scared people. It was all very striking because firefighters, police and ambulances arrived,” they told local media.
