First residents evacuated from Badalona buildings return home

Residents from one of the evacuated buildings in Badalona were allowed to return to their homes on Thursday.

The residents were evacuated on February 21 and are the first ones allowed to return since evacuations started. 

The evacuated residents were notified on Wednesday by the city council that they could return home, once the building's framework had been reinforced.

Out of the 20 families who will return to their homes, two will have to wait until the reinforcement work is completely done because the roof is in a poor state and needs to be repaired. 

Badalona building collapse 

On February 6 a five-story building collapsed in Badalona, causing three deaths. 

After the collapse, technical inspections in the area were carried out by a company, urgently hired by the Badalona city council. 

A total of 440 apartments were set to be inspected. All were built between 1954 and 1960 by the same developer. In the following month, five buildings nearby were evacuated over safety concerns. 

None of them were adjacent to the collapsed building, but they all belong to the same block of flats. A total of 120 families left their houses. 

At the same time the Badalona city council has requested judicial authorization to inspect the attic at number 119 on Ausiàs Marc street. The owner is not allowing the technicians to enter to carry out an inspection.