12 people hospitalised after Rioja bar collapses.
Twelve people were injured, and dozens more trapped, after the floor and ceiling of a bar crumbled in the Rioja village of San Vicente de la Sonsierra, following a wine festival.
Emergency services were called to Bar Tempranillo at 5.25am on 3 October to pull customers out of the rubble following the building’s sudden collapse.
According to eyewitness reports, the floor of the venue gave way first before part of the ceiling and then the roof fell in.
Spain’s Red Cross confirmed it dispatched two ambulances, two logistical support vehicles and eight paramedics to help the injured, many of which had been taking part in the region’s annual Vintae Wine Fest bar crawl. The 20th edition of the event saw more than 950 festival-goers descend on Rioja village San Vicente de la Sonsierra. However, the festival’s organisers claim that the final buses left the area at around 4am, and that no festival attendees were at the bar when the collapse happened.
The establishment had permission to stay open until 6am, so was operating within its licensing terms, and around 50 people are thought to have been in the bar when the incident occurred.
Hospital dash
Following the wreckage, firefighters propped up what was left of the building while a specialist Rescue Dog Unit was deployed to locate people trapped underneath the debris.
The Guardia Civil confirmed that some of the injured were taken to the San Pedro hospital in Logroño, while others were transported to Haro health centre for treatment. One of the injured individuals had a broken leg.
A neighbour who lives close to the bar told local news outfit La Rioja: “We never imagined this had happened. The important thing is that everyone is okay.”
Meanwhile, Ramón Ramírez, mayor of San Vicente de la Sonsierra, issued a statement saying: “We’re going to declare it [the building] in imminent danger of collapse so the owners can take action. We’ve been assessing the situation, shoring up what we can, but now we have to start clearing the rubble. The second floor is hanging by a thread, precariously suspended from a dividing wall.”
Spanish police have launched an official investigation into the cause of the bar collapse.
Information from The Drinks Business
