Multiple people have been hospitalized after 70 people fell through the floor at a New Hampshire wedding venue.
As reported by People, the incident happened Saturday, March 21, in Tamworth, New Hampshire. The Tamworth Fire and Rescue Service responded to a call saying the floor had collapsed during a wedding service. The incident happened at The Preserve at Chocorua at around 4:30pm.
The New Hampshire Division of Fire Safety revealed in a statement on their website that almost 150 people were on the floor when it collapsed. "Multiple people were trapped under beams as well as farming equipment [that was being stored in the basement]", the statement read. "When first responders arrived on scene, they revealed that venue staff and wedding guests had... provided initial first aid to guests."
Thanks to the quick work of the people there, ladders were also being used to help people who'd fallen through. Because of the first aid, only six people were hospitalized with injuries. But we aren't sure of the full extent of those who were hurt. That's something that's still under investigation.
The investigation in question has also revealed that the "building was over capacity prior to the floor collapse".
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Fire Marshals Are Glad More People Weren't Injured in the Floor Collapse
New Hampshire State Fire Marshal Sean Toomey said that people got lucky in the wake of the floor collapsing. He talked to NBC10 Boston about the situation.
"We're very fortunate that more people didn't get seriously injured out here tonight. It's a testament to the folks, the staff and the other wedding guests that stepped up immediately to help render aid and get other people out of harm's way, get them to safety," he said in the interview.
"I think the overall outcome between their initial actions and then the actions of the fire department made a big difference here tonight," he finished.
A commenter on the outlet's post highlighted one possible cause behind the floor collapse: "[...] It could have been dry rot." While we don't know for sure, given the age of the building, that might not be so far-fetched. The wedding venue was built in 1778.
We're glad everyone's okay and that no one was seriously injured.
