MASS CASUALTIES REPORTED AT TAMWORTH WEDDING AFTER FLOOR COLLAPSE (New Hampshire)

x ^ | 3/21/26

[CFW]

A wedding party was interrupted when the floor collapsed at about 4:30 this afternoon in Tamworth, NH, according to emergency responders via radio traffic.

The Preserve at Chocorua, also being referred to as The Tap House, at 88 Philbrook Neighborhood Rd, Tamworth, NH was the venue for a wedding today with 145 people present when part of the floor collapsed into the basement during the event. The number of injured has not been stated, but at least 10 ambulances have responded from area towns in what was described as a mass casualty incident, and Life Flight is responding to transport one status 1 patient.

This is an active scene at this time. Please avoid the area.

THIS INCIDENT HAS BEEN CLASSIFIED AS A MASS CASUALTY INCIDENT (MCI), WHICH REFERS TO AN EVENT INVOLVING MULTIPLE PATIENTS AND A HIGH DEMAND FOR EMERGENCY RESOURCES. AN MCI DOES NOT AUTOMATICALLY INDICATE FATALITIES. PLEASE AVOID THE AREA TO ALLOW RESPONDERS ACCESS.

[TexasGator]

“I guess the folks at Google “

Automated. AI?

[Chickensoup]

Looks like a collapse into the basement. So far no deaths reported. One very difficult extraction

[Governor Dinwiddie]

Poor engineering. The suspension rods, bolts, and washers were not capable of supporting the
weight of the walkway. A design change without engineering review was the direct cause.

[AuntB]

Probably a miracle it doesn’t happen more often.

[allendale]

The laws of physics are always obeyed. As soon as these structures are built the gravity is always pulling them downward. Add human activity such as stomping and rhythmic dancing and there is an additional destabilizing force. Its a wonder there are not more horrendous collapses. A few years back the Golden Gate Bridge featured a celebration where close to two hundred thousand people were all walking on it. Later engineers stated the bridge was not designed for that type of stress and fortunately it did not fall.

[jimtorr]

In 1995, the Sampoong Department Store, in South Korea collapsed, killing over 500 people. The cause there was cost cutting during construction in 1987.

Luckily, so far the Tamworth collapse, so far, has not killed anyone.

[ridesthemiles]

HARMONICS—MY THOUGHT ALSO...

[metmom]

NH ping

[Kenny Bania]

Floor collapsed at a wedding Israel about 20 years ago too. Bunch of people were killed. Remember seeing the video. Terrible.

[anton]

One Kansas City Place. I represented the structural steel contractor, J&B Steel back then. Big problem.

[ridesthemiles]

HARMONICS—MY THOUGHT ALSO...

ALL DANCING TO A TUNE WITH STOMPING???

THAT IS WHY MILITARY ALWAYS BREAKS CADENCE WHEN CROSSING ANY BRIDGE........

[KSCITYBOY]

I lived in KC then Awful my dad lost a few friends

[metmom]

That is WAY up there, not near anything.

In a direct line, not bad, but with the lakes and mountains, there is no direct line anywhere.

Medical care will be difficult.

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

M.W. I think?

Mrs. Pete worked for a retired Insurance salesman and his wife, a retired nurse. Both of them and a son by a previous marriage were all trapped under the rubble. (They both passed. The son moved to CA.)

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

I remember a similar thing happening in France many years ago. A wedding celebration when the floor collapsed into the basement. The corner of the floor that fell was over a well in the basement and it caused many to go into that well.

[fidelis]

my guess is that some floor beams had too long of an unsupported span that were never designed to carry that much weight.

My first thought too. My bet is that this building was originally built to house some other kind of business, not originally designed to carry that kind of occupant load. Especially with the style of dancing that youngsters have these days, which is basically just jumping up and down.

[CFW]

Multiple injuries reported after structural collapse at Tamworth wedding venue

https://www.nhpr.org/nh-news/2026-03-21/multiple-injuries-reported-after-structural-collapse-at-tamworth-wedding-venue

[dfwgator]

I remember the one that happened in Israel.

[FreedomPoster]

IIRC there was a significant difference with the hanger connection detail to the walkway between the engineer’s design, and the contractor’s shop drawings and installation, that no one caught. That combined with the added force by the rhythmic dancing created the failure and disaster.

[neverevergiveup]

Several friends of mine had wedding receptions at a place that had a very large dance floor - on the second floor. When people were doing specific wedding dances that involved synchronized steps and jumping the floor would visibly flex - a lot. It freaked me out and after seeing it move as much as it did I wouldn't participate.

I think there's a kind of normalcy bias that compels people to think that all buildings have been built for the activities that happen in them. That's definitely NOT always true. Watching a group of people who had been drinking alcohol for hours jumping up and down on a structure that didn't seem engineered with sufficient strength to support their combined weight and synchronous impact on the floor was more than I could ignore. Fortunately, nothing horrible ever happened there, but it has since been demolished.