Malaga city council's trade department has ruled that it is no longer possible to continue operating a public entertainment venue (in this case a ... cinema) on the first floor of the new building on Calle Orense, within the Málaga Nostrum shopping centre.
The decision comes after around 30 people couldn't leave one of the screening rooms after a film on Saturday. They were trapped for around 50 minutes, until the arrival of the fire brigade.
This decision is due to the shopping centre's failure to submit the documentation required for the processing of the declaration of responsibility for said activity and the declaration of responsibility for the occupation of the cinema screens, among other issues.
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According to the city council, upon request, the party concerned only submitted certain documentation and omitted essential documentation in the declaration of responsibility for the activity.
The incident on Saturday
As SUR reported on Monday, a group of more than 30 cinemagoers were trapped for 50 minutes in one of the screens at the Mk2 Málaga Nostrum cinemas, following the screening of the film Other Mommy on Saturday night. The incident required the fire brigade to intervene in order to free the cinemagoers, as the door wouldn't open.
According to Abel Plaza, one of the affected parties, when the screening ended, they realised that they couldn't get out. "The door wouldn't open," Plaza said. The cinemagoers tried to force it open themselves.
Shortly afterwards, the cinema's alarm went off. "A very unpleasant wailing sound started," Plaza said. The public address system played a message on a loop: "Please proceed to the nearest exit."
They had to listen to the alarm for 40 minutes, which was triggering to many. Plaza said that, even though they tried to take it lightly, some people got "anxious and worried".
According to Plaza, the building had no alternative emergency exit. The oly way to communicate with the outside world was through handwritten notes. "They passed us a piece of cardboard with writing on the underside."
Eventually, the fire brigade arrived to force the door open. "The fire brigade had to get us out because the door was impossible to break!" Plaza said. The firefighters used "a sort of a pair of pliers".
After being released, the cinemagoers expressed their dissatisfaction with the staff's behaviour during the incident and with the way the official paperwork was handled.
"Yesterday we witnessed a disgraceful scene at the Mk2cines Málaga Nostrum cinema: we were locked in a screening room with no emergency exit for 50 minutes," one cinemagoer said.
"The way we were treated by the staff and the manager left a lot to be desired. They didn't give us the three complaint forms or provide the stamp until more than 15 minutes had passed," they said.
Plaza, who works in the retail sector, described the difficulties in lodging the complaint: "I had to put up a fight. They gave us a hard time because there were three of us and they only gave us two forms. We asked for the stamp, but they wouldn't give us that either." They now plan to submit their complaints to the relevant authorities this Friday.
"The consumer affairs department and Malaga city council should look into all this, as it is a real disgrace that we were left locked in a room for 50 minutes," Plaza said.