UPDATE 6 PM FRIDAY: Tara McCarthy was steps away from the Titanic Museum Attraction's Promenade Deck when the ice wall display collapsed.
She and a family member heard a loud crash in the next room and felt the floor of the Pigeon Forge attraction shake.
"It was just like – boom!”
Among the injured Monday night were two young boys from Ohio and a Florida woman who suffered head injuries and was airlifted to University of Tennessee Medical Center. The woman's medical status was unclear Friday; UTMC didn't return a call for information.
McCarthy, 28, of Pennsylvania said she'd never been to the Titanic Museum on the Parkway and was looking forward to the experience. She traveled to Sevier County on vacation.
She recalled she was standing on the attraction's bridge next to the Promenade Deck where the ice wall was located.
After it fell, people moved to help the injured on the deck. McCarthy recalled seeing one boy, maybe 8-10 years old, bleeding on the floor. The child, she said, “was surrounded by ice.”
Another, older injured boy was on the floor by the door.
“Thick ice was everywhere," McCarthy recalled.
When she looked on the wall where the ice wall had been “The only thing I saw up on the wall was just metal."
She said she talked to the mother of the two boys and the mother said, “We just touched the ice and it fell.”
An adult woman had been knocked unconscious in the ice wall collapse. Records show she was taken to UT Medical Center; the boys went to LeConte Medical Center in Sevierville, where they were treated and eventually released.
McCarthy said she's since been in contact with the mother of the two boys. One child had a broken bone and the other had a sprain, McCarthy said the mother told her.
McCarthy said she got back to Pennsylvania Thursday night.
On Friday, the Pigeon Forge Police Department released an incident report from the collapse. Mary Kellogg Joslyn and John Joslyn, Titanic's owners, issued a statement a short time later.
"Because of privacy laws that exist, we were just made aware – through news reports that have been issued – of the injuries that were sustained by the guests involved in the accident that occurred at Titanic Museum Attraction – Pigeon Forge on the evening of Monday, Aug. 2. Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with all who were affected by the accident.”
PREVIOUS STORY: A 44-year-old Florida woman who had to be airlifted to University of Tennessee Medical Center appeared to suffer the most serious injuries among five people hurt Monday night when an ice wall collapsed at the Titanic Museum attraction in Pigeon Forge.
An incident report identifies the woman as Barbara A. Szatan of Palm Harbor, Fla. She suffered head injuries and was airlifted by Lifestar to UT Medical Center.
Two men were taken to LeConte Medical Center in Sevierville. One had injuries to an arm, leg and head; the other had injuries to his arms and head, a report states.
Two other people suffered leg or knee injuries but were not transported to the hospital, the report states.
WBIR reached out to UT Medical Center on Friday to learn the condition of Szatan.
Titanic Museum owners Mary Kellogg Joslyn and John Joslyn said their "thoughts and prayers continue to be with all who were affected by the accident."
The ice wall display collapsed before 8 p.m. Monday at the Parkway attraction. It was on the museum's Promenade Deck, meant to show visitors the conditions the night the giant passenger ship hit an iceberg and sank in April 1912 on its maiden transatlantic voyage.
A video camera inside captured the moment the wall of ice collapsing on the five people, a report states. A Pigeon Forge Police Department detective was to get a copy of the video, a report states.
WBIR requested a copy of the video, but the collapse remains under investigation and the video wasn't available for release, according to Pigeon Forge Police Department Lt. Matthew Pendleton.
The attraction closed Monday night but reopened Tuesday to ticketholders.
The Joslyns issued a statement Tuesday. They offered prayers to the victims.
"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 statement reads.
According to Tuesday's release from the owners, "Our maintenance professionals are in the process of reevaluating 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 Attractions.”
