Two of the seven Irish students injured in the Berkeley balcony collapse remain in a critical condition in Highland Hospital in nearby Oakland, according to the local Irish Consul General Philip Grant.
The seven have been named as Clodagh Cogley, Aoife Beary, Niall Murray, Hannah Waters, Seán Fahey, Jack Halpin and Conor Flynn. They are aged between 20 and 22 and are all from Dublin, with the exception of one student who is from Donegal.
Ms Waters and Ms Beary remain in a critical condition. Their parents and other family members have arrived from Ireland and are at the hospital. Their conditions are being closely monitored by medical staff. The remaining five remain in a stable condition at two other hospitals. Two of them were in surgery for most of Tuesday and are believed to have suffered serious, life-changing injuries.
Family connections
The parents of Olivia Burke, one of the six killed when the balcony collapsed at the 2020 Kittredge Street student accommodation building, arrived from Ireland on Tuesday night. Ms Burke, whose Irish-American cousin Ashley Donohoe was also killed on Tuesday, has family connections in the area.
Ms Burke’s mother and Ms Donohoe’s father are sister and brother. Ms Donohoe’s family live in Sonoma, about 40 miles north of San Francisco. Ms Burke’s father also has a brother living in the area.
The other four deceased were Eoghan Culligan (21), Niccolai (Nick) Schuster (21), Lorcán Miller (21) and Eimear Walsh (21). The bodies are being held at the Alameda County’s mortuary in Oakland.
Mr Grant said that the American agencies which run the J-1 programme for the US state department, CIEE, which is based in Portland, Maine, and InterExchange, which is based in New Jersey, are covering the cost of medical expenses and emergency-related costs associated with the accident through the programme’s insurance policy.
Aer Lingus has helped in assisting the families of the dead and injured to travel to San Francisco at short notice, Mr Grant said. The Irish Consulate in San Francisco has set up a trauma centre in the City of Berkeley’s public safety building next to City Hall. The city has provided staff and trained counsellors to assist with consular staff.
