US: A balcony crammed with party-goers collapsed early yesterday in a Chicago suburb sending bodies and splintered wood plummeting three stories into a tangled mass that killed 12 people and injured dozens.
Some witnesses reported hearing a creaking sound as the overloaded top floor of the wooden structure gave way, crushing people on lower floors and trapping them at the basement level. Others were left dangling from the ruined structure.
Other guests at the party, which appeared to be in more than one apartment in the six-unit building, described the swiftness of the collapse as the heads of their friends dropped from sight as the top deck gave way.
The accident occurred behind an apartment building in the prosperous North Side neighbourhood near DePaul University, a popular area dotted with numerous nightclubs and bars.
Survivors tried to pull friends from the mass of bodies and shattered wood, and neighbours used torn bedsheets and ice from a nearby tavern to pack wounds until paramedics arrived. Fire department rescuers used chain saws to cut through to victims trapped at the basement level.
Witnesses estimated that 70 people were on the decks and stairways when the top floor gave way, the city's fire commissioner, Mr James Joyce, said. "It appears to be a case of too many people in a small space," he added.
Wooden balconies are a common sight at the rear of Chicago apartment buildings, and collapses can occur as the crudely constructed structures age, sometimes with deadly effect. - (Reuters)