At least 10 people were injured, one seriously, after a balcony at off-campus housing at the University of Cincinnati collapsed Friday evening, officials said.
A call came in around 10:09 p.m. reporting a third-floor balcony had collapsed, according to city spokeswoman Lindsay Lomax.
One person was seriously injured while the others suffered non-life-threatening injuries, Cincinnati Fire Chief Frank McKinley said. They were all taken to local hospitals, and seven of them were treated at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, officials confirmed.
Most of the victims are believed to be students at the University of Cincinnati, McKinley said. The university was informed of the incident, he said.
The university did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
It’s unclear how many people were on the balcony when it collapsed, McKinley said.
The cause of the collapse is not known at this time, but initial assessments indicate that weight may have played a contributing role, Lomax told NBC News.
The Cincinnati Department of Buildings and Inspections is on site to assess the structural collapse, according to McKinley.
“We were able to gather information from bystanders and some of the people whose lives were not in danger were able to provide information, but it’s still early in this process,” McKinley said during a press briefing after the incident.
The investigation into the balcony collapse is ongoing.
