World

Spanish Furniture Store Collapse

February 3, 2000 / 9:49 AM EST / AP

The floor of a furniture store collapsed Thursday when hundreds of bargain-hunters crowded for a sale on armchairs near the southern city of Seville. The collapse injured at least 138 people.

Emergency services said the floor collapsed as at least 400 people lined up in front of a cash register to buy armchairs on sale at $17.65 each. Hundreds more shoppers were in other areas of the large building but were not hurt by the collapse in Dos Hermanas on the outskirts of Seville.

At least five people were in serious condition in the hospital while the rest of the victims suffered light injuries and trauma, said Zacarias Cotan, spokesman for the Interior Ministry in Seville. He said no one was killed in the collapse.

"We heard two very strong cracks and, after the second, the floor disappeared," a man who was injured in the collapse told state news agency Efe. He didn't reveal his name. "About 50 of us fell into the basement along with chunks of rubble and pieces of beams. Luckily, no furniture fell."

Red Cross, firefighters and ambulances rushed to the scene to find customers evacuating the building and carrying out the injured in makeshift stretchers and shopping carts.

The Muebles Peralta furniture store had opened at 10 a.m. local time to launch the sale and the floor collapsed amid a rush of customers five minutes later.

Local government representative Rocio Roche said nobody remained trapped in the building and all injuries were treated shortly after the accident.

However, police were searching the rubble with sniffer dogs as a precaution, she said.

Investigators are probing the soundness of the building structure.