Berkeley balcony collapse

Berkeley balcony collapse
DateJune 16, 2015
LocationBerkeley, California, U.S.
Coordinates37°52′05.5″N 122°16′10.5″W / 37.868194°N 122.269583°W / 37.868194; -122.269583
Deaths7
Non-fatal injuries6

On June 16, 2015, shortly after midnight, five Irish J-1 visa students and one Irish-American died and seven others were injured after a balcony on which they were standing collapsed.[1] The group was celebrating a 21st birthday party in Berkeley, California. The balcony was on the 5th floor of an apartment building at 2020 Kittredge Street in Berkeley, then called Library Gardens. The district attorney of Alameda County launched a criminal probe into the incident.[2] In January 2022, one of the injured died from a stroke related to the injuries.[3]

In June 2015, Mayor Tom Bates of Berkeley promised a wide-ranging investigation into the cause of the accident. The evidence is overwhelming that dry rot from improper construction caused the collapse, not the weight of the 13 students.[4]

  1. ^ "Six Irish students killed and six seriously injured in California balcony collapse". evoke.ie. 16 June 2015. Archived from the original on 4 July 2015. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
  2. ^ "Alameda County DA's office to lead criminal probe into Berkeley balcony collapse". mercurynews.com. Archived from the original on 30 June 2015. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
  3. ^ "Berkeley balcony collapse survivor Aoife Beary dies". irishtimes.com. 2 January 2022. Archived from the original on 2 January 2022. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  4. ^ McGreevy, Ronan. "Unstable materials caused 2015 Berkeley balcony collapse - report". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 2020-11-11. Retrieved 2022-01-03.