Deadly Balcony Collapse Tied to Rotted Wooden Beams

Victims’ loved ones made their way toward Berkeley from Ireland as investigators Wednesday tried to pinpoint the cause of a balcony collapse that left six people dead and seven seriously injured.

A woman cries as she leaves flowers at the scene of the balcony that collapsed at an apartment building near UC Berkeley in Berkeley, Calif., on Tuesday June 16, 2015. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

BERKELEY, Calif. — Victims’ loved ones made their way toward Berkeley from Ireland as investigators Wednesday tried to pinpoint the cause of a balcony collapse that left six people dead and seven seriously injured.

One outside expert observing the investigation said that the balcony’s wooden beams appeared to be so badly deteriorated they were crumbling in engineers’ hands.

My heart breaks for the parents.

— Enda Kenny, Prime Minister