The day after the devastating flat explosion in Ibiza: residents left without hot water or cooking facilities as five families remain unable to return home

Residents of the building in Ibiza Town’s es Putxet neighbourhood affected by the major gas explosion on Tuesday afternoon are currently without hot water and unable to cook. The building has 22 flats, five of which were severely damaged by the blast, and their occupants will not be able to return for at least two months, Ibiza mayor Rafael Triguero confirmed this morning. The remaining 17 households can enter and leave their homes normally, although they still lack hot water and cannot use their kitchens.

The Town Hall has provided residents with a temporary solution so they can shower and has arranged for them to have lunch and dinner at a nearby café.

Triguero stressed that the City Council’s top priority is the recovery of those seriously injured, as well as addressing the needs of the building’s residents, whose homes belong to the Balearic Housing Institute (Ibavi). Although late on Tuesday the mayor initially stated that residents of the two unaffected blocks could spend the night in their homes, they ultimately chose not to return. The Council then arranged accommodation for 36 people across three hotels in Ibiza Town. Only two families stayed in the building overnight.

Triguero also thanked the Balearic Minister for Housing, José Luis Mateos, and the director of Ibavi, Roberto Cayuela, who visited the damaged building this morning.

Stunning images of the damage caused by an explosion in an apartment in Ibiza.

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Ibavi is currently searching for five apartments to rehouse the families whose homes were most severely affected, as they will be unable to return for at least two months due to the extensive damage.

In addition, the Council has deployed two psychologists to support families who request assistance, particularly children, who are considered “the priority”, according to Triguero, who believes more families will return to their homes today.

Among those affected, two families have specific personal circumstances, and the Council is working to find suitable alternative accommodation for them.

Hotels offer support

Despite the start of the tourist season, the mayor explained that hotel owners on the island offered on Tuesday night to host evacuated residents. The aim is to secure accommodation for those affected over the coming nights as well.

The block where the explosion occurred remains sealed off while forensic police continue their investigation, whereas the other two blocks of the building have been reopened.