Deck collapse kills 12, injures 34 at Chicago party

truly sad for the families of the victims.
it was in the hip part of town, Wrigleyville, where all the young people live.





CHICAGO, Illinois (CNN) -- A wooden deck, loaded with college students, collapsed during a party early Sunday, killing at least 12 people and injuring 34 others as it plunged three floors into an alley, police and fire officials said.

As many as 50 people, mostly college-age partygoers, were crowded onto the deck when it collapsed, Chicago Police spokesman Wayne Frisbie told CNN.

It was "a case of too many people in a small space," said Chicago Fire Commissioner James Joyce.

"It is a tragic case of overloading the back porches," Joyce said. The commissioner expressed concern that more porches could be overloaded Sunday as the Gay Pride parade is held in the city. He urged people to "use common sense."

The rails of the wooden deck appeared to be intact, although the flooring was collapsed.

The Associated Press reported that guests at the party gathered onto both a second-floor porch and a third-floor porch. Fina Cannon, a woman who attended the party, said an especially large number of people walked onto the third-floor porch and she was in the apartment's back kitchen looking toward the porch when it collapsed.

"All of a sudden I saw all these heads going down," Cannon told Chicago cable television station CLTV. "The floor just dropped out from underneath them. They all went down in unison."

Joyce confirmed the 12 deaths with 10 others critically injured. Another 20 people were hospitalized with injuries, while four more victims were considered "walking wounded," Joyce said. The injured were taken to eight hospitals, he said.

A spokesman with the Cook County Medical Examiner's office said 11 people died at the scene, and the 12th victim died after being taken to a hospital.

The three-story apartment building is in the vicinity of Wrigley Field, Frisbie said.

The deck collapsed about 12:30 a.m. CDT (1:30 a.m. EDT) during a party, he said. DePaul University is just a few blocks from the scene of the deck collapse.

As many as 100 rescue workers were on the scene, Joyce said.