Irish Consul assisting as heartbroken parents arrive in San Francisco

PARENTS and relatives of the Irish students killed and injured in the Berkeley balcony collapse have started to arrive in San Francisco.

The parents of Aoife Beary and Hannah Waters, both of whom are in a critical condition in an Oakland Hospital, arrived in the city on Tuesday night.

Family members of the five Irish victims who died in the tragedy flew out from Dublin Airport yesterday on an Aer Lingus flight and arrived in San Francisco last night.

They were met by consul officials and later met the coroner to discuss repatriating the bodies of their children home to Ireland in the coming days.

Mike Beary, the father of Aoife who last night remained in a critical condition, thanked friends, work colleagues and parishoners in Foxrock for their support.

In a message posted on his Twitter account, he wrote: “We are with Aoife now by her side and she has excellent care.”

In another post, he wrote: “Our prayers are with the bereaved: we fight for the survivors: thanks to everyone for huge support.”

Mr Beary also thanked gardaí in Blackrock Garda Station for the escort as they dashed to Dublin Airport on Tuesday to catch the first available flight to San Francisco.

Meanwhile, Greystar, the management company which runs the Library Gardens apartment complex where the six young students died, said their representatives are liaising with students who have been living in the building.

A company representative said she was helping Irish students to find alternative accommodation in a nearby hotel.

USIT and SAYIT said they have been liaising with their counterparts to offer practical support to families and friends of those affected by the tragedy.