A special ceremony took place on Wednesday evening in Berkeley, California, in which President Michael D. Higgins expressed his thanks to the emergency services of the city for how they responded to the accident that claimed the lives of five Irish students.
The families of the victims were also in attendance at the event, in which the President thanked the emergency staff,a s well as the volunteers who helped Irish citizens in the wake of the tragedy.
Image: Marcio Jose Sanchez / AP/Press Association Images
Image: Marcio Jose Sanchez / AP/Press Association Images
According to The Irish Times, the city's interim fire chief Avery Webb stated that the effects have been long-lasting and felt by the teams who attended the scene, saying "none of our officers ever experienced something like this, not on this level".
Image: Marcio Jose Sanchez / AP/Press Association Images
As a representative of the Irish people, Higgins paid tribute and expressed his gratitude for how the city's emergency services responded, saying that the students "needed the compassion and intensive support of those where they found themselves, people who turned out not to be strangers, but great friends".
Image: Marcio Jose Sanchez / AP/Press Association Images
Image: Marcio Jose Sanchez / AP/Press Association Images
President Higgins' visit also included the planting of two strawberry tree saplings at a park near the Library Gardens complex where the accident occurred, in honour of the victims who lost their lives.
