Santa Barbara’s Paige Hauschild of the U.S. women’s water polo team was among those injured early Saturday at a nightclub in Gwangju, South Korea, where an interior balcony collapsed and reportedly killed two people.
Hauschild is a member of the U.S. team that won the FINA World Championship in Gwangju on Friday.
She and teammate Kaleigh Gilchrist, along with U.S. men’s team members Ben Hallock and Johnny Hooper, were among dozens of people injured at the Gwangju nightclub.
Two South Koreans reportedly died when the balcony collapsed inside the club around 2:30 a.m., according to the BBC. Neither was an athlete.
Gilchrist, 27, of Newport Beach, suffered a serious laceration on her leg and underwent surgery Saturday in a hospital, said Greg Mescall, director of communications for USA Water Polo.
Hauschild, 19, a graduate of San Marcos High and a sophomore at USC, required stitches for lacerations on her right arm, Mescall said.
Hooper, 22, of Los Angeles, required stitches on his left hand, and the 21-year-old Hallock, of Westlake Village, suffered minor scrapes on his legs, according to Mescall.
Media reports say water polo athletes from the U.S., Australia and New Zealand were among those at the nightclub.
USA Water Polo said in a statement that all of the American water polo athletes “are safe and accounted for.”
“This is an awful tragedy,” Christopher Ramsey, CEO of USA Water Polo, said in a statement. “Players from our men’s and women’s teams were celebrating the women’s world championship victory when the collapse occurred at a public club. Our hearts go out to the victims of the crash and their families.”
— Noozhawk Sports Editor Barry Punzal can be reached at bpunzal@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.