Two women are dead and 17 people are injured after a balcony at a home in Melbourne‘s Doncaster East collapsed last night.
The collapse is believed to have happened during a Tupperware Christmas party, when at around 10:30pm up to 30 people gathered on the timber balcony to take a photo, and the boards beneath their feet gave way. It’s reported that heavy objects including a barbecue and a fridge were also on the balcony at the time.
🇦🇺 #DoncasterEast balcony collapse, Victoria, Australia. pic.twitter.com/wo91Qq4Qfk
— Emergency-Life.com (@Emergency_Life) December 16, 2017
The collapse was so severe that many people were trapped under the rubble, forcing emergency services to rescue them. More than a dozen ambulances were called to the area, treating 10 women and seven men for soft tissue injuries, fractures and cuts. Twelve others were treated at the scene.
Tragically, a 59-year-old woman died at the scene, and a 37-year-old woman died later in hospital.
https://twitter.com/EstelleGriepink/status/942139628353593344
Neighbour Andrew Stone told The Age that the sound of the balcony coming down was “biblical“.
I ignore a lot of noises that you hear in the neighbourhood and the sound of that balcony crashing got me right up and out of the chair.
At first, I thought maybe a fight or something had broken out. I heard crashing. In hindsight, it was maybe five seconds long but it felt like forever.
The sound of it was sharp. It was like a tree being felled. The crash was biblical. The sound of it was nothing like I had heard before and, of course, followed by screaming. It was fairly intense.
Balcony collapse at Doncaster East leaves two people dead, more than a dozen others injured. 30+ people came down with the structure, leaving several trapped. Long night for neighbours & emergency services – pillows on the nature strip. @3AW693 pic.twitter.com/hV3qZkCSbU
— Jordan Tunbridge (@JordanTunbridge) December 16, 2017
Police have said that they will prepare a report for the coroner, and that they are treating the collapse as an accident. Acting Superintendent Kerin Moloney told reporters, “This is a tragedy that has been magnified by the fact we are only one week away from Christmas.”
Our thoughts are with the families of the victims.
