A balcony that snapped off an apartment building in California killing six people, was supported by wooden beams that had been badly rotted by water damage, building inspectors say.
The city Building and Safety Division issued a summary of initial findings on Tuesday following an investigation into the balcony failure.
The inspectors noted that joists underlying the concrete balcony were extensively rotted at the place where the structure broke off, flinging 13 young adults five stories to the street below.
The inspectors did not specifically say the rotten beams caused the collapse, but they are calling for more frequent inspections and several changes in the local building code to prevent balconies from being exposed to moisture.
Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates said last week that rotted wooden beams might have caused the collapse, but later clarified the theory was speculation and a cause had not been officially determined.
Olivia Burke, Eoghan Culligan, Niccolai Schuster, Lorcan Miller and Eimear Walsh, all 21-year-olds from Ireland, and Ashley Donohoe, 22, of Rohnert Park, California, were killed when the balcony fell during a birthday party.
The seven other people on the balcony were hospitalised.
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