Tragedy struck during a birthday celebration in the early hours of Tuesday June 16, when an apartment balcony collapsed, killing five Irish students and one American
Five Irish students and one American have been killed when an apartment balcony collapsed during a 21st birthday party in the early hours on Tuesday, June 16 in California, US.
The students have been identified as Olivia Burke, 21, Eoghan Culligan, 21, Niccolai Schuster, 21, Lorcan Miller, 21, and 21-year-old Eimear Walsh were identified as the victims from Ireland, while Ashley Donohoe, 22, is an Irish-American from Rohnert Park in California’s Sonoma County.
The City said it had ordered the property owner to immediately remove the collapsed balcony and to perform a structural assessment of the remaining balconies within 48 hours.
Irish students who had been sleeping in the building at the time described hearing a bang. “I walked out and I saw rubble on the street and a bunch of Irish students crying,” said Mark Neville, a J-1 student.
The Irish Consul in San Francisco was quoted by NBC saying that up to 14 people were on the balcony at the time. Seven others who were severely injured in the tragedy are still receiving medical attention in Eden, Highland and John Muir Hospitals.