North Carolina Beach House Collapse Injures 14

Another blow for the summer in North Carolina, when a beach house collapse injured at least 14 people.

According to ABC News [1]:

At least 14 people were injured today when a deck collapsed at a North Carolina beach house, officials said.

According to Emerald Isle Police are reporting that members of a family were a deck overlooking the ocean preparing to take a family photo shortly before 7 p.m. when the structure collapsed.

First Responders from Emerald Isle arrived on scene within minutes and began treating and triaging patients, police said.

“About a 12-by-12 section of deck collapsed, about ten to twelve feet. We transported fourteen patients from that collapse,” Emerald Isle Fire Chief Bill Walker said.

Due to the number of casualties involved, neighboring agencies were called in to assist in transporting and dealing with the victims.

Police reported that at least one victim was airlifted to New Hanover Regional Medical Center and at least two others are reported to be in critical condition.

The severity of injuries to the remaining victims were not known this evening, police said however 14 people were transported to the hospital from the scene.

The cause of the collapse was not known this evening, police said.

Of the people who were taken to Carteret General Hospital, three were in critical condition and the rest suffered non-life threatening injuries, hospital spokeswoman Tonya Fluellen said.

Another two people were airlifted from the scene to a different hospital, and were also believed to be in critical condition, the Carteret hospital spokeswoman said.

Source:

[1] http://abcnews.go.com/US/deck-collapse-north-carolina-beach-house-injures-14/story?id=32227953