On Tuesday evening, a powerful explosion occurred in a social housing block on Sant Vicent Street in Ibiza, resulting in four people being hospitalized. Two women, aged 45 and 21, are in critical condition in intensive care, and another man remains under medical observation. According to local services, about 70 residents were evacuated from the building in total.
The incident happened around 17:15 during an attempt to turn on a new electric stove. Preliminary reports suggest a malfunction during the installation: work was underway in the building to replace gas appliances with electric ones. At the time of the explosion, the apartment was occupied by a mother, her son, his fiancée, as well as a neighbor from the adjacent unit, who was also injured. The explosion damaged not only the apartment itself but also neighboring units, and partially affected the floors above.
Immediately after the incident, firefighters, police, and specialists from the Redexis gas company arrived on the scene. By 19:20, clearing debris and cleaning the area had begun. According to emergency services chief José Antonio López, elements of the building’s structure were thrown by the blast wave even into neighboring homes. Experts and police inspected all apartments to determine which residents could return home soon. Residents of the six most affected apartments have been advised to seek temporary accommodation.
The situation with accidents and emergency resettlements on Ibiza is not new: large-scale evacuation operations have previously been carried out on the island, such as during the resettlement of the largest illegal construction in Sa-Joveria. This time, the authorities and emergency services acted as swiftly as possible to minimize the impact on residents.
The Ibiza authorities continue to monitor the situation and promise to keep the public informed about further steps to restore the damaged housing. Safety issues during the replacement of household appliances in old buildings have once again become a focus for local residents and utility services.
