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Deck collapses during family photo, 5 taken to hospital

A portion of a wooden deck collapsed outside a restaurant in southwestern Ontario, just as a group of 16 people were posing for a family photo on Easter Sunday.

The Ontario Provincial Police were called to the Benmiller Inn & Spa in Goderich, Ont., just before 1 p.m. ET.

According to police, "the north end of the deck collapsed causing some of the family members to fall approximately 10 feet to the ground below."

Dawn Beach, the manager of the Benmiller Inn & Spa, told CBC News in a telephone interview that the deck was a fire exit off the restaurant dining room.

She said the deck was "not something we use to sit people out on," though some people will step out onto it to look at the creek.

Beach said the family had been in the dining room having brunch prior to the incident. When they went out onto the deck for the photo, the collapse ensued.

Five people were taken to hospital. All reported injuries were minor in nature, police say.

Beach said an elderly woman had been left with a cut on her ankle.

"Everyone here feels really, really bad," Beach said, noting that the inn is hoping to reach out to the family in the days ahead.

The Ontario Ministry of Labour is investigating.