Britons among dozens hurt in Tenerife nightclub floor collapse
Several Britons are among the injured after the floor of a nightclub collapsed in Tenerife, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has confirmed.
Forty people are reported to have been hurt in the incident at the packed Butterfly club in Adeje on the island in the Canaries at about 2.30am on Sunday. Revellers were sent tumbling into an empty basement after an area of floor about 4 metres by 4 metres gave way, according to reports.
An Foreign Office spokeswoman said: “We are in contact with a number of British nationals who have been injured in an incident in Tenerife and are offering consular assistance.”
Local firefighters said the injured included two French men, two British men, a Romanian man and a Belgian woman. Injuries included broken legs, ankle sprains and bruises.
The Butterfly is a popular gay nightclub, and features drag shows and dancers on Saturday nights, according to its Facebook page.
Emergency services took 21 people to hospital and treated another person at the scene who was released, the regional government said. Another 18 people went to hospital by their own means to be treated, according to the mayor of Tenerife.
“After the floor collapsed, the people who were inside fell to the basement from the height of approximately one floor,” a spokesperson for the regional government told Agence France-Presse.
Video posted by Tenerife firefighters showed a gaping hole right in front of the club’s stage.
The club had its licence in order and did not appear to be overcrowded when the floor caved in, the mayor of Tenerife said.