N.C. deck collapse: 21 taken to hospitals

A vacation condo on the North Carolina coast experienced a sun deck collapse on the night of Tuesday, July 9 resulted in as many as 21 people hurt although the injuries were not life-threatening. Dozens of people were attending a party on the deck when it collapsed around 8:15 p.m., according to authorities.

The sun deck collapse at the beachfront home at Ocean Island Beach fell on a heavy concrete slab. Some 21 people were injured. One of them was taken by airlift about 40 miles to a Wilmington hospital, said Anthony Marzano, Brunswick County, N.C. emergency services chief. He said injuries consisted of cuts, spinal injuries and broken bones. Some 11 inured people were taken to a Myrtle Beach hospital while six went to a local medical center.

A nurse vacationing nearby at the resort area by the Atlantic Ocean said she hurried to the house as soon as she knew about the problem and found injured people with hip and leg fractures. The home was a summer rental that fronted a backyard pool and the waterfront, according to an online rental listing that said it went for $10,000 weekly and slept as many as 19 people.