At least three people were injured after a wall of ice collapsed at a ship-shaped museum commemorating the Titanic, which sunk when it hit an iceberg more than a century ago.
The three injured guests at the Titanic Museum Attraction in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, were transported to a hospital on Monday, according to the owner’s Mary Kellogg Joslyn and John Joslyn.
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‘At this time, we do not know the extent of their injuries, and our thoughts and prayers continue to be with all who were affected, including the first-responders,’ the owners wrote on social media.
‘Needless to say, we never would have expected an incident like this to occur as the safety of our guests and crew members are always top of mind.’
The iceberg wall, previously described as being 15-by-28 feet, was made of ice, and visitors were allowed to touch it. A water filtration system was used to grow it.
After closing in light of the incident, the museum reopened on Tuesday morning to people with tickets. However, it was missing a featured piece.
‘The iceberg wall does not currently exist, and the affected area has been blocked off, for the time being,’ the owners said. ‘We anticipate it will take at least four weeks for the iceberg to rebuild.’
Pigeon Forge police investigated the incident and said in a statement that the collapse appeared to be an accident.
The attraction’s website claims that the half-scale replica of the Titanic is ‘the world’s largest museum attraction. The outdoor replica of RMS Titanic holds more than 400 artifacts from the ship and items belonging to the passengers. The Titanic struck an iceberg in the north Atlantic Ocean early in the morning on April 15, 1912, and sunk, causing about 1,500 deaths.