AFP, Gwangju :
Two people died and 10 were injured, including two American athletes at the World Swimming Championships, after a nightclub balcony collapsed in Gwangju, South Korea, early on Saturday morning, local media reported.
A 38-year-old and a 27-year-old were rushed to hospital in grave condition after an internal balcony gave away at 2:29am Saturday, but both died from their injuries, according to Yonhap news agency.
Among the injured were four foreigners, including an American diver and an American water polo player, reports added.
Pictures showed the mangled wreckage of the balcony, which collapsed under the weight of party-goers and dropped around five metres (16 feet).
The New Zealand water polo teams were also present, according to the New Zealand Herald.
Men’s captain told Radio Sport: “We were just dancing and then the next minute we dropped five or six metres and everyone started rushing out of the club after that. We, I guess, fell on top of the heads of other people that were beneath us.”
The World Swimming Championships end on Sunday.
