Six Dead After US Balcony Collapse

Six Dead After US Balcony Collapse

A sixth person has died after a balcony collapsed during a 21st birthday party attended by Irish students in the US.

The latest fatality was announced hours after Ireland's Taoiseach Enda Kenny said it was too early to predict the full extent of the "dreadful accident" in which the five Irish students died.

At least another eight were injured, some critically, in the incident on the fourth floor of an apartment complex in the college city of Berkeley, California, in the early hours of the morning.

The balcony collapse caused the dead and injured to plunge about 40ft (12.2m) to the ground.

Mr Kenny said his "heart breaks" for the families of the students involved.

It is believed they were on working holidays in California through the J1 visa scheme.

Lieutenant Riddic Bowers of the Alameda County Coroner's Bureau confirmed the latest death, but was not able to give any further details of the age, gender or identities of the dead.

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