Campus & community, Campus news

Campus community mourns victims of balcony collapse

By Public Affairs

remembrances of the victims
Victims of Tuesday’s tragedy were remembered with thoughts, flowers and pictures. (UC Berkeley photo by Jean Smith)

In the aftermath of Tuesday’s balcony collapse in downtown Berkeley, which took the lives of six students and critically injured seven others, the UC Berkeley community is rallying to offer solace, support and counseling to those struggling to cope.

“This is a devastating loss, and UC Berkeley wishes to extend our condolences to the families of those victims lost in this terrible accident,” said Joseph Greenwell, the campus’s dean of students. “We also wish to extend our thoughts and wishes for recovery to those who were injured and receiving medical attention. Our hearts go out to all the victims’ families, friends and loved ones.”

Although the victims were not Berkeley students, the tragedy struck a deep chord with many on the Berkeley campus, just a few blocks from the Kittredge Street building in which the students, many of them from Ireland, were staying. The fourth-floor balcony collapsed around 2:40 a.m. Tuesday.

Those in need of assistance can consult University Health Services’ support page on coping with trauma, or contact the Office of the Dean of Students for guidance on how to find help.

University College Dublin and the Dublin Institute of Technology, each of which lost students in the accident, have created online books of condolences open to all who wish to leave a message.