Local council moves 16 people out of homes due to crack in Costa Brava apartment block 

Blanes City Council has moved sixteen people out of their homes due to a crack in the structure of their apartment building. 

The council made several requests to the building's owner to fix the crack and work is now going to proceed, but the inhabitants have been temporarily evicted as a precaution. 

Technicians working for the council say that the greatest danger is in the communal stairway and that it can be resolved within a week. 

In the meantime, the council has offered accommodation in guesthouses to the five families affected. Eleven people have accepted the council's offer while the remaining five have gone to homes of friends or relatives. 

The building is situated in Plaça de Medellín in the coastal town north of Barcelona. 

Blanes mayor, Jordi Hernández, is confident that the residents will be able to return home next week after the main repairs are carried out. Work would then continue for another two to three months with the residents living at home. 

Evacuations 

There have been a spate of planned and unplanned evacuations in Catalonia in recent weeks since a building in Badalona collapsed killing three people. 

About 60 residents were evacuated from their homes in Santa Coloma de Gramenet, just outside Barcelona, on Monday after cracks were discovered in the internal structure of the buildings.