Wednesday 17 June 2015

Berkeley balcony collapse: Inside 'run-down' Library Gardens complex where Irish students died in party tragedy

These are pictures showing 'run-down' conditions in the Library Gardens apartment block where five Irish students and an Irish-American woman were killed in a balcony collapse in California.

Ashley Donohoe, 22, and Olivia Burke, Eoghan Culligan, Niccolai Schuster, Lorcan Miller and Eimear Walsh, who were all 21, died when the fourth-floor balcony collapsed at around 1am local time yesterday...

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Online reviewers had previously left scathing remarks about the accommodation in Berkeley, which is a popular hub for travelling students.

Six people died while seven remain in hospital - many with serious injuries.
These are pictures showing 'run-down' conditions in the Library Gardens apartment block where five Irish students and an Irish-American woman were killed in a balcony collapse in California.

Ashley Donohoe, 22, and Olivia Burke, Eoghan Culligan, Niccolai Schuster, Lorcan Miller and Eimear Walsh, who were all 21, died when the fourth-floor balcony collapsed at around 1am local time yesterday.
                          Victims: Six people died following the balcony collapse
Online reviewers had previously left scathing remarks about the accommodation in Berkeley, which is a popular hub for travelling students.

Six people died while seven remain in hospital - many with serious injuries.

Chan N / Yelp'No maintenance': Reviewers set the flats were not looked after
On Yelp.com Chan N wrote last Wednesday: 'Apartment is loud noisy, lacks any amenities, No gardens of any kind. Doesn't take care of any maintenance issues in a timely manner.'

Alex Merenkov added on Google: 'Management is not capable of doing what they are asked time and time again. Its incredibly and horrifically frustrating.'
'Rotting': Structural engineers have suggest overloading and dry rot may have caused the balcony to fall
Another Google user added: 'If you have no other choice and is stuck with this hellhole, then read everything three times.'

Meanwhile, Structural engineers have said pictures of what is left behind of the fourth-floor balcony show rotting wood may have contributed to its collapse.

Officials have suggested '12 to 14' people were "packed like sardines" on the balcony at the time of its collapse - and that the single unit structure will only have been able to take a maximum of five people.

Structural engineer Grace Kang, a spokeswoman for Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Centre in Berkeley, said pictures suggested the collapse had been caused by overloading and may have been contributed to by dry rot.

She said: "They were packed like sardines, and then they were moving."

She added that as there was no additional support beneath the balcony it would be more vulnerable to dry rot and the effects of weather.

The managers of the building issued a statement expressing their shock over the tragedy.

Houston-based developer Greystar said: "Our hearts go out to the families and friends of the deceased and those injured in this tragic accident.

"As the property management company, we have taken precautionary steps to limit access to other balconies at the apartment complex as law enforcement completes its investigation.

"The safety of our residents is our highest priority and we will be working with an independent structural engineer and local authorities to determine the cause of the accident."
Four people died at the scene and two died later in hospital. Seven were seriously injured when a balcony collapsed during a 21st birthday party for Aiofe Beary - the cousin of Ashley Donohoe.

They plunged 40ft when it broke free from the fourth-floor apartment wall and flipped over.

The dead were Irish students visiting California on temporary summer study visas, officials said.

Police said they received a complaint over a loud party at the building in Berkeley in San Francisco Bay around midnight but no officer attended.
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