Two German tourists, a Senegalese man and a 23-year-old Spanish woman who worked at the venue in Palma de Mallorca, were killed when the recently renovated first-floor terrace collapsed on May 23. It fell onto the ground floor, which then plummeted into the basement. Another 14 people were injured.
The police homicide group has “arrested the owner of the company that operated the business over his alleged involvement in four cases of manslaughter and six cases of serious injury through gross negligence,” police said.
A police investigation found that during the refurbishment, a roof had been added to the terrace, which did not have a licence.
“The structure had not been reinforced for such use and as a result of the modifications had been overloaded with weight,” police said.
The weight of the roof and the 21 people on the terrace “caused the structure to collapse,” the statement said.
Police did not name the arrested man but media identified him as Austrian businessman Christian Arnsteiner who owns the company that operated the Medusa Beach Club in a seaside area of Palma that is popular with tourists.
The Balearic Islands are one of Spain’s top tourist attractions with more than 14 million foreign tourists last year, according to official figures.
Platform with AFP
