OLD HICKORY, Tenn. (WTVF) — Emergency crews rescued 12 people from boats Blue Turtle Bay Marina after a boat dock roof collapsed Wednesday night.
The Nashville Fire Department and Office of Emergency Management responded to the marina around 8:30 p.m.after reports of people trapped.
Photo: Nashville Fire Dept.
Officials said the dock was so icy that responders couldn't get to the area on foot, so the department launched rescue boats to reach those trapped in their boats or on the dock.
"This is a very dangerous process because it's dark outside, it's slippery, without the ice and the snow it's already slippery and there are certain things that you have to do to make sure that you can safely get one person to the next boat," said Kendra Loney with the Nashville Fire Department.
PHOTOS: Caroline Chaney
The collapse is believed to have been caused by heavy ice weighing on the dock's roof. Crews continued to search for others and cleared other docks that appeared to be unstable as the roofs appeared to be sagging and bending under the weight of the ice.
"The complicating circumstances that some of these boats are actually house boats where people live on them so without an account for how many actual houseboats there are, how many people should be on that boat, it's kind of difficult to make sure that you have rescued everyone, said Loney.
PHOTOS: Caroline Chaney
Officials said no one was transported to the hospital.
"We want to point out that management on the scene said that that they advised all of their tenants to not be in their boat during this type of weather... so those persons that were on their boats were advised by management not to be on their boats," said Loney.
Two other boat docks in Old Hickory flipped into the water at the Brandywine Marina this week due to heavy ice. Thankfully no one was trapped or injured in that instance.
