Five killed and eight injured as fourth-floor balcony collapses during party

Five people have been killed and eight others injured after a balcony collapsed at an apartment building in Berkeley, California. Officer Jennifer Coats, of the Berkeley Police Department, said many of the injured have critical, life-threatening injuries. She said officers were alerted shortly after 1am and found the balcony on the fourth floor of an apartment building on Kittredge Street had collapsed.

We don’t have a lot of specific detail at this point because they (investigators) are still trying to work through it all.

Officer Jennifer Coats, of the Berkeley Police Department

Irish broadcaster RTE reports there was a 21st birthday party taking place in the apartment and the balcony is thought to have collapsed on to one below it before falling to the ground. Irish Foreign Affairs Minister Charlie Flanagan has said a number of Irish students were among those who died in the collapse. He said: “It is with great sadness that I confirm that a number of young Irish citizens have lost their lives while a number of others have been seriously injured.”

My heart goes out to the families and loved ones of the deceased and those who have been injured in this appalling accident.

Irish Foreign Affairs Minister Charlie Flanagan

World Balcony collapses