Coroner Says Sixth Person Has Died Following Berkeley Balcony Collapse

Update: 1:15 p.m. - Coroner Says Sixth Person Has Died Following Berkeley Balcony Collapse

(AP) - A coroner says a sixth person has died after a balcony crammed with people celebrating a 21st birthday collapsed at a housing complex in Berkeley. The Alameda County coroner did not release any more details about the latest fatality.

Authorities are trying to determine what caused a balcony to break loose from the side of an apartment building in Berkeley.

At least five of the dead were from Ireland -- students who were in the country on visas allowing young people to work and travel in the United States over the summer.

Original story: 7:00 a.m. - Irish Official: Balcony Collapse Came Amid Party

(AP) - Irish Foreign Minister Charlie Flanagan told reporters in Dublin that all five of those killed when a balcony collapsed in Berkeley were Irish students in the U.S. on temporary visas.

He said a 21st birthday party was underway in the building at the time of the accident. Officer Jennifer Coats of the Berkeley Police Department said many of the eight people injured in the collapse early Tuesday have critical, life-threatening wounds. Police say when officers arrived they found that the balcony on the fourth floor of the building on Kittredge Street had disintegrated.

Police say when officers arrived they found that the balcony on the fourth floor of the building on Kittredge Street had disintegrated.

The building in the heart of downtown Berkeley has apartments in the upper floors and retails shops at ground level. The walkable neighborhood just blocks from the University of California, Berkeley, is dotted with museums, restaurants, coffee shops and chain stores.