Los Angeles--Five young Irish people died and eight more were injured overnight when an apartment balcony collapsed in the college town of Berkeley, California, authorities said Tuesday.
Some of the injured were in critical condition, local media reported.
The cause of the collapse was not immediately known.
Irish Foreign Minister Charlie Flanagan said in a statement: "It is with great sadness that I confirm that a number of young Irish citizens have lost their lives while a number of others have been seriously injured following the collapse of a balcony in Berkley, California earlier today."
He told Irish national broadcaster RTE that "the police have indicated that they do not believe other nationalities to be involved."
Four people were declared dead at the scene and one more died later at the hospital, he said, noting that they were "students for the most part."
Officers received a call just before 1:00 am (0800 GMT), Berkeley Police spokeswoman Jennifer Coats told AFP.
"We have five fatalities and eight others injured," she said.
The fourth-floor balcony collapse occurred in a building located two blocks from the University of California, Berkeley campus, local NBC affiliate KNTV reported.
Coats said that officers are investigating the incident, according to KNTV.
She added that she had no other information on how the collapse occurred or the victims' identities, KNTV said.
AFP
