Two dead after terrace collapses at Lake Erie winery

Victims were flown to hospitals via helicopter

July 1, 2000
Web posted at: 6:35 p.m. EDT (2235 GMT)

MIDDLE BASS, Ohio (CNN) -- A terrace at a winery on Middle Bass Island in Lake Erie collapsed Saturday afternoon, killing two people and injuring dozens.

Initial estimates at the Lonz Winery put the number of injured at 60 to 100, according to John Blatt, mayor of nearby Put-in-Bay, Ohio.

"They're digging them out and rescuing them," Blatt said. "We have no information on deaths."

A spokeswoman for Magruder Hospital in Port Clinton, Ohio, said she had been told two boatloads of victims were on the way there, one carrying 20 to 30 people and the other, 10 to 20.

She said the more seriously injured were flown to larger hospitals in Toledo and possibly Cleveland.

Four of those victims were taken to St. Vincent Mercy Medical Center in Toledo.

"We have three females and one male," said spokeswoman Catherine Harned, who did not have information on their condition.

Coast Guard units and paramedic units from northwest Ohio were being called to help, he said. The island is about 5 miles off the mainland.

The deck collapsed into the basement of Lonz Winery, a 15- to 20-foot drop, Blatt said. "It was a busy day."

The winery, which dates from the Civil War, is usually crowded in the summer with tourists who come for the wine tastings.

Officials alerted the staff at Firelands Hospital, in Sandusky,Ohio, Magruder Hospital, in Fort Clinton, Ohio, St. Vincent's Hospital, in Toledo, Ohio and Cleveland Metro Hospital to prepare for victims.

"I think they'll all be used," Blatt said.

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Lonz Winery

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