ARROWSIC, Maine — Eleven people were hurt when a long wooden walkway collapsed at Doubling Point Lighthouse in Arrowsic on Saturday during an annual event that encourages tours.
Bath Fire Department Deputy Chief Chris Cummings responded to the scene Saturday to help treat those injured. Cummings told the Bangor Daily News that people on the walkway fell from a height of between six and 10 feet.
“lt was lower tide so they all kind of fell in the marshy mud area. Some fell from higher into the marsh area than others,” Cummings said. “We don’t know, but people could have fallen on each other.”
Some of the people were still in the mud when first responders arrived and were assisted to shore, Cummings said. The injuries were non-life-threatening, he said.
Five of the 11 injured people were taken to hospitals.
The lighthouse was more crowded than usual because of Maine Open Lighthouse Day, which is a day when the state’s scenic lighthouses are open to the public.
“That was a very busy day down there for them,” Cummings said. “There was a lot of people there.”
The lighthouse has stood since the late 19th century and is located on the Kennebec River.
The lighthouse is closed to the public on Sunday, said Karen McLean, a member of the Friends of Doubling Point Light. McLean said the group intends to repair the lighthouse, but there is no timeframe to do that yet.
A notice on the Friends of Doubling Point Light website states the lighthouse will remain closed “until further notice.”
The lighthouse is active as a Coast Guard aid to navigation. The site has a long wooden walkway that leads over a marshy area to the lighthouse, which itself is shorter than many in the state with a tower height of 23 feet.
Cummings said several officers from Bath and firefighters from neighboring departments responded to the collapse.
Alex Hill, who witnessed the collapse, told CBS 17, he “heard a terribly loud cracking, and then collapsing sound, and then some screams, and everyone knew immediately what had happened.”
CORRECTION: The story has been updated to clarify Cummings’s job title.