On 1 July, a removable swimming pool cracked the floor of a building in Palma after it began to give way under the weight of more than 5,000 kilos of water. Palma Local Police arrived after being called by a building safety technician who had assessed the potential danger of the situation. At around 12.30 p.m., several local police officers and crews from the Palma Fire Brigade arrived and, after examining the situation, decided to empty the pool as soon as possible to prevent further structural damage.
According to local police sources, the pool was 1.10 metres high and 4.50 metres long. The police have warned of the potential dangers of these pools on terraces and of the need to consult a professional to analyse the strength of the floor structure before proceeding with installation. Many terraces and penthouse flats are not designed to support the weight of these pools, which can be equivalent to that of 100 people in such a small space.
José Miguel, a fictitious name, is the owner of the squatted house in Palma where the swimming pool was installed, causing the building’s structure to creak and making neighbours fear a collapse.
Before the squatting, there were other tenants who, according to José Miguel, had not paid rent for seven years. He claims that when he finally managed to evict them, the house was ‘a mess’ and says he had to sell another of his flats to be able to repair this one.
The owner did not want to be filmed or share his real name because he says he is ‘very afraid of these people.’ In addition, José Miguel suffered a serious stroke a year ago and feels physically weak: ‘I’m alive by a miracle.’ The owner of the property has described the ordeal he and his neighbours are going through: ‘The local police have already come several times because of the noise, they also bother the other property because of the noise they make and the water from the pool, which splashes onto other terraces.’
José, who admits to being ‘very disappointed with the system’, recalls the only time he has come across the squatters and says he was surprised by the natural way they asked him about cleaning the building. He also wants to report that he and his neighbours have seen on several occasions how ‘children between the ages of 3 and 4’ were left completely alone many mornings.