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At Least 16 People Hurt When Overcrowded Roof Collapses at Party Near University of Pittsburgh

At least 16 people were hurt when an overcrowded roof collapsed at a party near the University of Pittsburgh.

According to a press release from the Pittsburgh Public Safety Department, just before 5:30 p.m. on Friday, March 14, the University of Pittsburgh Police, Pittsburgh Police, Fire, and EMS responded to reports of a “porch collapse with injuries” at the 300 block of Semple Street in Central Oakland.

Upon arrival, responders located a “collapsed porch in the rear of a residence with a large crowd gathered.”

The Pittsburgh Public Safety Department said witnesses reported that “several hundred” individuals had converged in the communal courtyard behind the residence. According to CBS affiliate KDKA-TV, about 300 to 500 people were in the courtyard during the collapse.

A video taken from the party and shared on social media shows multiple people on the porch’s roof and on the porch itself when it collapsed. A witness of the collapse, Nathan Pierzchala, told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette he counted up to 22 people on the roof when the incident occurred.

As a result of the collapse, Pittsburgh EMS transported a total of 16 individuals from the scene, per the press release. Thirteen of the individuals were transported in “stable condition,” while three others were transported in “serious but stable condition.”

According to the Pittsburgh Public Safety Department, the “bulk of the transports were for minor arm and leg injuries and concussions. One individual is believed to have suffered a leg fracture.” At least a dozen people were treated on-scene for minor abrasions.

The press release said that the Department of Permits, Licenses, and Inspections (PLI) arrived at the scene and “condemned the porch but deemed the residential structure itself to be sound.”

Michael Estocin, one of the individuals who was on the roof when it collapsed, told KDKA-TV: “It all just happened in the blink of an eye.”

“The roof just collapsed on us, it felt so scary, I really don’t have the words to comprehend how I felt in the moment,” he said.

The University of Pittsburgh Police confirmed in a social media update that those injured were transported for care. It said that it continues to work with the city on the investigation into what happened.

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“As a reminder, it is never safe to be on rooftop,” their statement added. In a follow-up post on Friday night, they said roads in Oakland are open except for the 300 block of Semple Street “which is still closed at this time.”

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