Balcony falls off 2nd floor Groningen apartment

A balcony fell off a second floor apartment on Westindischekade in Groningen on Wednesday morning. No one was injured. Housing association Lefier will inspect the other balconies in the apartment building to see if any others are at risk of collapsing, RTV Noord reports.

The resident of the apartment, Pieter Bouma, heard a "dull thump" while asleep in his bed at around 5:15 a.m., but did not immediately realize what happened. "At ten to six my cat wanted to go to the balcony, at which point I saw I had no balcony", Bouma said to RTV Noord. He had concerns about the balcony in the past. "I've been living here for three and a half years now, and I saw that the balcony was hanging more and more. I reported it to Lefier. But they said nothing could happen."

Lefier has 312 homes that have this same balcony. "In 2014 we commissioned research into the condition of the balconies", a spokesperson said to the broadcaster. "Recently this flat was renovated from the inside, so this is an unpleasant surprise for us."

As a precaution, Lefier will prop up the balconies of all 312 homes. Until then, the doors to the balconies will be locked, so that residents can't go onto them.