Berkeley injured Aoife Beary wakes from coma

By Kelly O'Brien, Irish Examiner

Aoife Beary, one of the survivors of the Berkeley balcony collapse, has woken from her coma and is no longer in a critical condition.

The student, from Blackrock, Co Dublin, had been celebrating her birthday in San Francisco last month when the balcony they were standing on gave way, killing six of her friends and injuring six others.

Aoife Beary

According to a statement released by her family on their Facebook page Friends of Aoife Beary, the 21-year-old has started to communicate with those around her.

“Aoife is still in the ICU but is no longer on the critical list. She has slowly started to awaken from the induced coma. This process is expected to take some time,” they said.

“Aoife has also started some communication with her parents and the medical team. She has had a tracheotomy within the last week and continues to make progress on her long road to recovery.”

Her parents, Michael and Angela, are by Aoife’s bedside at the Stanford Medical Centre in Palo Alto, California.

Irish students Eoghan Culligan, Niccolai Schuster, Lorcan Miller, Eimear Walsh, Olivia Burke and Ashley Donohoe were killed in the collapse.

While the majority of the survivors are either slowly recovering in hospital or have already been discharged, Hannah Waters, from Castleknock, Co Dublin, remains in a serious condition.

An online fund has been set up to help the victims and their families. So far, more than €234k has been raised.

To donate, go to here.