One person was sent to hospital, and 10 more narrowly escaped serious injury, after a balcony collapsed at a Canada Day house party in White Rock.
Eleven people, including a four-year-old child, were standing on the deck to watch a fireworks display when it broke and fell nearly two metres to the ground. Emergency crews rushed to the scene and took a woman to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
“I just immediately went over and I was concerned that someone was under the deck,” one resident said. “Fortunately everyone was OK. No one was under any of the debris. The child was fine. We checked him out and then the ambulance checked out him as well.”
The residents know it could have been a lot worse if the slide had pushed people off the cement embankment, and fallen to the ground two metres below.
“We’re very fortunate that there was just minor injuries,” said White Rock RCMP Cst. Shantal Sears.