Titanic Museum Iceberg Wall Collapse Hospitalises Three Visitors

Three people were hospitalised after an iceberg wall collapsed at a Titanic museum in the US.

The ship-shaped museum in Tennessee was forced to close on Monday (2 August) after the iceberg wall fell.

In a statement shared yesterday (Tuesday 3 August), owners Mary Kellogg Joslyn and John Joslyn said the extent of the injuries sustained by visitors were not known.

Titanic Pigeon Forge

They said: "On the evening of Monday, Aug. 2, an accident occurred at Titanic Museum Attraction.

"Our iceberg wall collapsed and injured three guests, who were taken to the hospital.

"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.

"Immediately following the accident, Titanic Museum Attraction was closed, and as of the morning of Tuesday, Aug. 3, we reopened to ticketed passengers.

"The iceberg wall does not currently exist, and the affected area has been blocked off, for the time being. We anticipate it will take at least four weeks for the iceberg to rebuild.

"The safety of our guests and team members is always top of mind. Our maintenance professionals are in the process of re-evaluating our quality and safety guidelines and we'll make all modifications, as necessary, to proactively ensure the well-being of all who experience Titanic Museum Attraction."

The museum bills itself as 'the world's largest Titanic museum attraction', exhibiting more than 400 artefacts directly from the ship and its passengers.

Titanic Pigeon Forge

The website reads: "As visitors touch a real iceberg, walk the Grand Staircase and third class hallways, reach their hands into 28-degree water, and try to stand on the sloping decks, they learn what it was like on the RMS Titanic by experiencing it first-hand."

In a another statement, Mary and John said the safety of visitors and employees is their top priority.

They said: "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.

"We take pride in the quality of our maintenance and have measures in place to ensure that appropriate safety guidelines are upheld."

Pigeon Forge Fire Department Chief Tony L. Watson doesn't seem to have figured out what exactly happened just yet.

He told CNN: "Something caused that ice to fall off of that wall."

He also praised the response of museum staff.

He said: "The Titanic staff did an excellent job of getting people away from the area and downstairs then evacuating them out of the building."

Topics: titanic, US News, No-Article-Matching

Jake Massey

Jake Massey is a journalist at LADbible. He graduated from Newcastle University, where he learnt a bit about media and a lot about living without heating. After spending a few years in Australia and New Zealand, Jake secured a role at an obscure radio station in Norwich, inadvertently becoming a real-life Alan Partridge in the process. From there, Jake became a reporter at the Eastern Daily Press. Jake enjoys playing football, listening to music and writing about himself in the third person.

@jakesmassey