Berkeley balcony collapse: 'No criminal charges' will be brought, district attorney says

 Image caption Six students were killed when a balcony collapsed in Berkeley, California 

 

The California District Attorney investigating a balcony collapse that killed five Irish students and one Irish-American has said she will not be bringing any criminal charges in connection with the incident.

The balcony collapsed in Berkeley on 16 June last year.
Seven other Irish students were critically injured.
Nancy O'Malley has said there is "insufficient evidence" to bring criminal manslaughter charges.
The California District Attorney said it was not a decision that she "came to lightly" and was the "culmination of months of consultation with my team of attorneys".

Image caption The victims: Top row, from left: Ashley Donohoe, Eimear Walsh, Olivia Burke. Bottom row, from left: Eoghan Culligan, Lorcan Miller and Niccolai Schuster

"It follows extensive review of reports, both legal and factual, and numerous meetings with investigators and experts," she added.
"Not a day has passed since the tragedy of June 16 that I have not thought of the victims and their families.
"I am keenly aware of the devastation and injuries each victim and each family suffered and continues to confront.
"Friends, families and entire communities both in California and in Ireland have been affected by the horror of that day."
Ms O'Malley said her office had provided substantial resources to the investigation and that it had involved a large team of prosecutors, investigators and multiple state agencies.
Five 21-year-old Irish students - Eoghan Culligan, Eimear Walsh, Niccolai Schuster, Olivia Burke, Lorcán Miller - and Ashley Donohoe, a 22-year-old Irish-American, died in the incident which happened during a 21st birthday party.
On Tuesday, Irish Foreign Affairs Minister Charlie Flanagan said his thoughts were with the relatives and friends of those who died.
"My department will carefully consider the details of the district attorney's findings," he said.
"While the district attorney's investigation did not find sufficient proof to take separate criminal proceedings, it has shone a vital light on the circumstances and factors that contributed directly and indirectly to the collapse of the balcony.
"This investigation is an important step in a process, the ultimate objective of which is to ensure that a tragedy such as Berkeley never occurs again."