Most Deck Collapse Victims Released From Hospitals

MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Most of the people who were hospitalized following the collapse of an outdoor deck at Shucker's Bar & Grill have been treated and released.

Seven people were rushed to North Shore Hospital. They've all been released.

Three people were taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital. Two have been released and one remains hospitalized.

Seven others were taken to UM Hospital, treated and released and two people were treated at Mt. Sinai Hospital and released.

The scene was chaotic when the deck collapsed into the shallow water of Biscayne Bay as the crowd watched the Miami Heat play the San Antonio Spurs.

"Sadly there were a lot of injuries, there was a lot of stuff on the deck, there were chairs, people and tables all in the same spot," explained Cesar Cabana.

"There were leg injuries, body injuries, the people were in shock and in awe," said witness Eric Williams.

Rescue crews set up a triage unit in the parking lot of the restaurant.

"They went ahead and first put the people who were hurt worse out. They had red, green and yellow tarps on the ground. There was no one on red which was great, the people on yellow were those with lesser injuries and the people on green could walk and just had less concerns," said Williams.

Some of the victims were treated on the scene for cuts and bruises while others were wheeled into rescue trucks to be hospitalized.

"We transported 24 victims from the scene, 2 are serious," said Miami-Dade Fire Chief Dave Downey. One person suffered a fracture, a fire official said.

Authorities said about 100 people were on the deck when it gave way. Many people seemed in shock, with cuts and gashes on their faces.

"We were sitting down for dinner when all of the sudden we heard a terrible sound and wood was breaking and we were falling back and it was very scary," said Celina Mills "I was afraid I was going to die. It happened so fast. There were tables and wood and all sorts of items on top of me and an umbrella in my face. I just feel it's not right what happened. My mind is boggled from it. I just thought I was going to die or get electrocuted."

Bill Ahern told D'Oench, "We were taking in a nice evening and I remember the sunset and in an instant, we were

Falling backwards into the water. I just didn't know what was happening. It felt like the bottom had fallen out and we were going downwards. You would not expect that to happen to a deck like that.

Attorneys Eric Pintaluga and Dallas Robinson are representing Mills and Ahern.

Robinson said, "We are here on behalf of our clients in this accident. We are here to investigate this and get to the bottom of this and make sure it doesn't happen again. This is why were are contemplating legal action."

Flabia Elienberca was wearing a neck brace  when she spoke with D'Oench, noting that she had heard her neck, head and left arm, which had a bandage wrapped around it following the accident.