US balcony collapse: Confirmation that beams had rotted

The victims: Top row, from left: Ashley Donohoe, Eimear Walsh, Olivia Burke. Bottom row, from left: Eoghan Culligan, Lorcan Miller and Niccolai Schuster

Wooden beams supporting a balcony that collapsed a week ago killing six students, had been badly rotted by water damage, the Berkeley Building and Safety Division has confirmed.

The incident happened during a 21st birthday party in the Californian city in the early hours of 16 June.

The inspectors did not specifically say the rotten beams caused the collapse.

But Eric Angstadt, Berkeley's director of planning and development, said they want more frequent inspections.

"I'm going to propose that similar to San Francisco that we require the owners to get a structural engineer or a structural past expert in to do the inspections every five years," he said.

Funeral masses took place on Tuesday for two of the six students killed in the balcony collapse in Berkeley, California.

Eoghan Culligan and Eimear Walsh, both 21, were laid to rest after ceremonies in Dublin, at which hundreds of mourners gathered.

Olivia Burke and Niccolai Schuster, also both 21, are expected to be buried on Wednesday, while Lorcán Miller will be laid to rest on Thursday.

The sixth victim, Ashley Donohoe, 22, was buried in California on Saturday.

Eimear Walsh's funeral took place at the Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour in Foxrock, Dublin

Five of the six people who died were Irish students based in the US as part of a work exchange programme.