The rooftop of a house in San Luis Obispo caved in due to the sheer number of people on it. The incident injured nine people.

Keyt.com reports that the roof collapsed at 6:21 a.m. on Saturday. The estimate is that there were 30 to 40 people on top of the roof when it collapsed.

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Hayley Westphal, one of those on the roof, recalls hearing a cracking noise which prompted her to go down because someone commented that the main frame of the roof cracked and suggested for people to get down.

The night was a party of California students who were informed mostly through social media. They arrived in green clothing and with alcoholic drinks to have a pre-St. Patrick's Day celebration.

Mustangnews.net, the student news service of Cal Poly, said the early celebrations could be the students' reaction to a warning from the dean of students that people who caused disturbances would be fined a minimum of US$700.

Even before the roof collapse, SLO police got calls from residents near the accident site due to the noise they generated. The cops wrote citations to party revelers under 21 who possessed alcohol and to the party host for breaching city ordinance on noise levels.

The injured were treated at the Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center. Nine were sent to the emergency room. Eight were treated and later released, while one remains in the center because something impaled into the leg of a young woman.

According to SLO Deputy Fire Chief Jeff Gater, no one was inside the garage when the roof collapsed. All of those hurt were young people who were sitting or standing on the roof, which has become a norm for college parties and other celebrations.

The city bans placing furniture on rooftop but not people standing on it.

Due to the incident, the SLO and Cal Poly police would increase its presence in the neighborhood in an attempt to curb similar incidents of unruly behavior.

In response to the incident, Cal Poly President Jeffrey Armstrong and Vice President of Student Affairs Keith Humphrey issued a statement saying that the university would investigate all aspects of the incident and respond appropriately.

"This event raises significant concern about the judgment exercised by both the party organizers and attendees regarding the health and safety of our students, which means we must continue to work to make sure event like this do not occur in the future," the two said in a statement.

Tagshouse collapse, student party, san luis obispo, california