Four people died and more than a dozen others were injured, some of them “seriously” but not in danger of death, after the collapse of a balcony in the building, according to the prefecture and hospital. A dozen people stood on the balcony on the third floor of the recently constructed building, when the accident occurred shortly before midnight on October 15. The balcony collapsed for an unknown reason, causing the balconies of the two lower floors to collapse as well, but according to sources close to the investigation, no one was on the lower balconies. / AFP PHOTO / JEAN-FRANCOIS MONIER
Authorities in the Maine-et-Loire region said the accident occurred late on Saturday when a balcony on the third floor of the recently-constructed building collapsed in the city of Angers.
They said four people were killed.
A spokesman for the city’s University Hospital said 10 people injured in the accident were admitted, one of whom was in serious condition. Another four were treated at a clinic.
The Ouest France newspaper said those on the balcony were young people attending a housewarming party.
The duty manager at the hospital, Michel Pichon, told France Info radio that all the injured “were about 20 years old, certainly students.”
