11 people injured after walkway collapsed during Maine Open Lighthouse Day

Eleven people were injured after a walkway leading to a Maine lighthouse collapsed during an annual event celebrating the state's historic beacons.

A portion of the wooden walkway at the Doubling Point Lighthouse in Arrowsic, Maine, collapsed on Saturday afternoon as people gathered for Maine Open Lighthouse Day — where more than a dozen state lighthouses are open for a day to thousands of visitors each year.

Bath Fire Department Deputy Chief Chris Cummings said the collapse of the ramp occurred at low tide which caused 11 people to fall about six to 10 feet onto a muddy marsh. Five people were transported to local hospitals and six were evaluated at the scene.

"There were no life-threatening injuries from this incident," Cummings told USA TODAY.

Several public safety departments responded to the incident and helped people get off the marsh on land, Cummings added.

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Karen McLean, a member of the Friends of Doubling Point Light, told the Associated Press that the non-profit group plans to repair the lighthouse but there is no timeframe to do that yet. The group posted a notice on its website on Sunday stating the lighthouse was "closed to visitors until further notice."

Doubling Point Light is a lighthouse on the Kennebec River in Arrowsic, a small Midcoast Maine town of about 450 people. The lighthouse is about 40 miles northeast from Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the state.

The lighthouse was established in 1899 and is an active aid for navigation for the U.S. Coast Guard. It is one of more than a dozen Maine lighthouses that people can visit once a year during Maine Open Lighthouse Day.

According to the American Lighthouse Foundation, the popular annual event attracts between 15,000 to 18,000 visitors each year. The event is sponsored by the foundation along with the Coast Guard and Maine Office of Tourism.

Contributing: The Associated Press