Friday, 19 June 2015

US balcony collapse: Plans made to bring bodies of victims to Ireland

BBC News
Arrangements are being made to bring home the bodies of five Irish studentswho died after a balcony collapsed in California in the United States.
The incident happened during a 21st birthday party in the early hours of Tuesday in the city of Berkeley.
Five of the six people who died were Irish students based in the US as part of a work exchange programme.
The funeral of the sixth student, Irish-American Ashley Donohoe, will take place in California on Saturday.
More relatives of those killed in the incident have arrived in California and have laid flowers and placards at the scene.
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Jimmy Deenihan, the Irish minister for the diaspora, laid a wreath at the scene
Of the five victims from the Republic of Ireland, three were students at University College Dublin and two of the young women were cousins.
The victims were:
  • Ashley Donohoe, 22
  • Olivia Burke, 21
  • Eoghan Culligan, 21
  • Niccolai Schuster, 21
  • Lorcan Miller, 21
  • Eimear Walsh, 21
Irish government minister Jimmy Deenihan, accompanied the families to the memorial on Kittredge Street in Berkeley, and said the students were not just a loss to their families but to the future of Ireland.
He added that the families appreciated the outpouring of grief and it was helping them to cope with the loss of their loved-ones.
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Authorities said 13 people were on the balcony when it collapsed
Phil Grant, the consul general of Ireland, said support was being given to the relatives of those killed and injured.
Investigations continue into why the fourth-floor balcony collapsed.
Engineers say water damage may have caused the structure to give way.
Authorities said 13 people were on the balcony when it collapsed.

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