Berkeley mayor Tom Bates said on Wednesday that the city’s investigation shows that water-damaged wood likely caused a balcony in California to collapse, killing six people and injuring seven others.
The victims, all 21 and 22, were celebrating a 21st birthday at a fourth-floor apartment in the Library Gardens apartment complex in Berkeley, California when the structure collapsed. Five of the dead were visiting from Ireland.
Bates said an early investigation shows that support beams for the balcony may not have been sealed properly when the apartment complex was constructed.
Independent engineers who have visited the scene, or looked at photographs of it, have also suggested that decayed wood is the prime cause for the collapse.
Gene St Onge, a civil and structural engineer from Oakland, said he suspects that the collapse was caused by “a classic case of dry rot”, which is caused by water seeping into wood and causing it to rot.
“It appeared to be shredded and darkened and had all the appearance of wood that had been totally compromised by dry rot,” he told the LA Times.
The city has also ordered the property owner to perform a structural assessment of the complex’s remaining balconies by Thursday night. Use of balconies at Library Gardens, which opened in January 2007, has been banned pending the results of an structural assessment ordered by the city.
When the building was constructed, city ordinances required that it be able to hold at least 60 pounds per square foot. The weight has now been raised to 100 pounds.
Berkeley spokesperson Matthai Chakko said on Tuesday that officials had not measured the Library Gardens balcony to see how much it could hold under that standard.
The city of Berkeley identified the dead as Ashley Donohoe of Rohnert Park, California, and Irish citizens: Olivia Burke, Eoghan Culligan, Niccolai Schuster, Lorcan Miller and Eimear Walsh.
“We extend our deepest condolences to the families, loved ones, and friends of the Irish students who lost their lives this morning in Berkeley, California,” the US state department said in a statement. “Our thoughts and prayers are with all those affected by this tragedy.”
On Tuesday, engineers examined the collapsed balcony and were seen looking at spots where wood was sticking out of the building. Pieces of the balcony fell to the ground as engineers touched them, according to the AP.
