One dead, dozens injured in Ohio terrace collapse

The terrace collapsed into the basement

July 1, 2000
Web posted at: 10:14 p.m. EDT (0214 GMT)

MIDDLE BASS, Ohio (CNN) -- One person was killed on Saturday and dozens were injured when a terrace collapsed at a popular winery on Lake Erie's Middle Bass Island, according to a U.S. Coast Guard spokeswoman.

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. Preliminary reports said two people had died, but that number was later revised.

Along with Coast Guard units, civilian paramedic units from the northwest Ohio region were being called to help, Blatt said. The island is about 5 miles off the mainland.

AUDIO An eyewitness describes the terrace collapse at the winery in Middle Bass, Ohio 761K/35 sec. AIFF or WAV sound

Blatt said at least 30 people had already been sent from the scene in ambulances and eight helicopters.

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

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

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

A victim arrives by helicopter at a Cleveland hospital

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

The deck collapsed into the basement of the winery, a 15 to 20-foot drop, Blatt said. "It was a busy day," he said, and the terrace was crowded with customers.

The winery, which dates from the Civil War, is a popular tourist destination.

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Lonz Winery

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