Terrifying video has emerged of the moment a seaside balcony collapsed injuring nearly a dozen partygoers in Malibu over the weekend.
Two guests were critically injured when the deck gave way just after 5:00 PM Saturday.
The owner of the residence 20526 West Pacific Coast Highway had rented it out to an unknown group that was not supposed to exceed six guests.
When neighbors informed her almost 30 people were gathered at the house, she reportedly pleaded with the rented to
She reportedly pleaded with the renter to ask people to leave.
Moments later, the deck gave way, sending bodies 15 feet downward into the rocks and surf of the Pacific Ocean.
“(There were) probably like 10 people on the back deck and we heard a crack and I literally saw all of my best friends and my girlfriend fall 15 feet to the rocks,” a witness told KCBS News.
“It’s a freak accident. Like, I don’t know, I don’t know how that happens. I don’t know how that happens. So, it is pretty cut and dry. The deck literally just gave out.”
The deck’s structural integrity — combined with weight from the many bodies — likely caused it to collapse, investigators say.
“We are looking at approximately 10 to 15 feet … Down below are jagged rocks, large rocks, so a very dangerous situation and fortunately, no one was hurt seriously or killed in this situation,” Captain Ron Haralson of the Los Angeles County Fire Department told KABC News.
LAFD has declared uninhabitable pending further investigation and repairs.
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