16 children injured in fall during Canada school trip to historic fort

WINNIPEG, Manitoba — Sixteen schoolchildren and one adult were hospitalized after falling Wednesday from a platform inside Fort Gibraltar, a popular tourist attraction in the Canadian province of Manitoba.

Dr. Karen Gripp from the Children’s Hospital emergency department said all but one has been treated and released from hospital after falling as much as six meters (nearly 20 feet).

Gripp said one child remains admitted for observation. The injuries include broken bones.

“It could have been so so much worse,” Gripp said.

Paramedics said they were told in a 911 call shortly before 10 a.m. that the children are 10 to 11 years old.

Fort Gibraltar, built in 1810, was a hub for the fur trade in the early days of Winnipeg. It now hosts functions and historical re-enactments.