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Up to 20 boats crushed after snow causes Lake Norman marina dock collapse

By Mark Barber
By Mark Barber

LAKE NORMAN, N.C. — A dock at Midway Marina on Lake Norman collapsed under the weight of snow on Sunday afternoon.

The fire chief thinks up to 20 boats were crushed by the dock's roof when it went down.

[RELATED: Dozens rescued after strong winds capsize sailboats on Lake Norman]

Justin Musgrave repairs boats, but some of the ones at the marina may be beyond saving.

"It's a pretty bad deal. Couple of my customers' boats are under there," Musgrave said.

There was a close call when the roof came down. A worker at the marina was under the roof when it collapsed.

Sherrills Ford Fire Chief Rick Davis told Channel 9, "Thankfully, as you just mentioned, he did make it out OK and unharmed, so that's a plus."

Crews are glad he escaped, but now they want to make sure nothing else does.

"We were concerned about fuel leaks and things of that nature getting into the lake," said Davis.

While firefighters check for leaks, everyone else keeps checking on the boats.

Musgrave explained, "I've got two customers here that I've got to survey the damage and report to them and let them know how we can get them out and how we can salvage what we got."

Not only did the roof of the dock collapse, but the problems also extended to other boat slips. Channel 9 spotted a second dock that was partially underwater on Monday morning.

"No marina is exempt from this happening. You just gotta watch your docks," Musgrave said.

The manager of the marina told Channel 9 he's bringing in heavy machinery and a barge to start cleaning up.

He said everyone is checking their insurance but the fire chief says worried boat owners should take it a step further before the next winter washout wipes out another marina.

Davis said, "If you need to move your boat in this case out of the slip, dry dock it, those things that can be done prior to the storm's arrival would go a long way as far as reducing the risk."

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