Elevated Walkway Deck Collapse Injures 21 Summer Campers in Surfside, Texas

Marissa G. Muller
·2 min read
2

The incident happened in Surfside, Texas, a small beach town on the Gulf of Mexico that is about 65 miles south of Houston

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An elevated walkway on a Texas beach collapsed, injuring 21 teenagers in a summer camp program on Thursday.

The incident happened in Surfside, Texas, a small beach town on the Gulf of Mexico that is about 65 miles south of Houston. The collapse remains under investigation, according to the Associated Press.

The teens, ranging in age from 14 to 18, were on a summer camp outing when a portion of decking gave out, KHOU reports. They were on an outing with the Bayou City Fellowship Summer Camp.

The incident occurred in the afternoon while campers gathered to take a group photo. There were 78 campers from Bayou City Fellowship visiting Surfside, and nearly a quarter of them sustained injuries from the collapse.

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"At approximately 12:30 p.m. today, a portion of a deck collapsed at Stahlman Park while students from our Cypress campus took a group picture,” read a statement from Bayou City Fellowship to KHOU.

None of the injuries were life-threatening, according to the statement, and five campers were life-flighted to Memorial Hermann in Galveston. "Nine were taken by ambulance to St. Luke's Lake Jackson,” the statement continues. "Five were driven to St. Luke’s for precautionary measures.”

"While this is a traumatic event, we are blessed to report that none of the injuries are life-threatening,” read the statement from Bayou City Fellowship. “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.”

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"For privacy reasons, we aren’t commenting on particular injuries or releasing the names of any involved," the statement concluded.

A portion of the walkway collapsed, however, the rest of it is still standing, KHOU reported.

Brazoria County Sheriff's Office, Surfside Beach Volunteer Fire Department, and Bayou City Fellowship did not immediately respond to PEOPLE'S request for comment.

While the conditions of those injured were not released, Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center asked for blood donation to help the teens in a Twitter post, according to ABC 13.

Ken Wharton told the outlet he stays in a nearby campground about once a month. He saw about 25 people on the deck before it toppled.

"The ambulance started pulling in, six of them," he said.

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