On Saturday, during the state’s annual event to promote lighthouse tourism, a platform leading to a historic Maine lighthouse fell, injuring up to a dozen tourists.
In accordance with a statement from Bath Deputy Fire Chief Chris Cummings, visitors to the Doubling Point Lighthouse plunged into the river’s rocks and mudflats after the final section of the ramp leading to the lighthouse had fallen.
Six additional people received treatment on-site, and five were transferred to nearby hospitals, but none of the injuries were life-threatening, according to Cummings.
On the annual Maine Open Lighthouse Day, which is sponsored by the U.S. Coast Guard and encourages visitors to explore the state’s several historic lighthouses, the collapse took place.
There is currently no estimated time frame for the platform’s repair, according to the organization that oversees the lighthouse, Friends of Doubling Point Light. According to the webpage for the lighthouse, guests are not welcome there at this time.
According to the American Lighthouse Foundation, the Doubling Point Lighthouse is a functioning lighthouse that assists the Coast Guard.
According to the website for the lighthouse, the government purchased the parcel of land where the lighthouse is located in Arrowsic in 1896 after a report emphasized the need for fog lights along the Kennebec River.
The lighthouse was relocated from its original foundation to its current location in 1899, according to the website, which is at the end of a lengthy catwalk that runs through a marsh and into the Kennebec River.
$50,000 was raised by Friends of the Doubling Point Light to replace the lighthouse’s foundation. The full renovation, which included involved repainting and rebuilding the walkway to the lighthouse, was finished in 2001.