Sam Amico
More than 20 teenagers attending a summer camp in Texas were injured when they crashed through a boardwalk that collapsed beneath them at Surfside Beach.
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None of the 21 injuries were considered life-threatening, though five of the teens had to be airlifted to the hospital following the accident.
The teens ranged in age from 14-18 and were gathering for a group photo on the boardwalk when it caved, according to reports.
“That whole ramp was getting full and then all of a sudden it sounded like a shotgun blast,” a witness told ABC13.
Beach Boardwalk Collapses
“It went POW! And next thing I know I see girls flying through the air, bouncing off the ground and then they didn’t move… There were just kids laying everywhere. It was terrible.”
Emergency personnel were on the scene within a few minutes, the witness added.
Six of the teens were taken to a Houston hospital by ambulance, while 10 others were taken by private vehicles. Others were treated at the scene.
Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center was seeking donations for those injured and to keep “our supplies and emergency vehicles full stocked.”
A total of 78 teenagers from Texas and parts of Louisiana were at the camp.
“While this is a traumatic event, we are blessed to report that none of the injuries are life-threatening,” Bayou City Fellowship wrote in a statement obtained by ABC 13. “We are thankful for the outpour of concern from our community and ask that the city and surrounding areas keep all that are affected physically and emotionally in prayer.”
