2003 Chicago balcony collapse
Deadliest porch collapse in U.S. history / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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On June 29, 2003, an overloaded balcony collapsed during a party in a Chicago, Illinois apartment building, killing thirteen people and seriously injuring fifty-seven others. It was the deadliest porch collapse in American history.
Date | June 29, 2003; 20 years ago (2003-06-29) |
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Location | Lincoln Park, Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
Type | Porch collapse |
Deaths | 13 |
Non-fatal injuries | 57 |
The ensuing investigation was highly critical of the way the balcony was built, finding a large number of errors in its construction which ultimately resulted in the collapse. However, the building's owner, LG Properties, and its president, Philip Pappas, blamed overcrowding on the balcony for its complete structural failure but took steps to strengthen the balconies at other properties to prevent a recurrence of the disaster. As part of such efforts, the balcony involved in the collapse was rebuilt.
The accident resulted in sweeping inspections of similar structures across Chicago, with 1,260 cases being acted on by the city authorities.