Authorities investigating ‘catastrophic’ dock failure that left 7 dead

(CNN) — The authorities are Iinvestigation into the cause of the partial collapse of the ferry dock on Georgia’s Sapelo Island that turned a day of celebration into tragedy, leaving at least seven dead and six seriously injured as crowds gathered for a festival cultural.

Amid a celebration by the island’s small Gullah-Geechee community of descendants of black slaves, a walkway collapsed on the visitors’ ferry dock shortly before 4 p.m. Saturday and plunged at least 20 people in the water, said Capt. Chris of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. Hodge said during a press conference Saturday evening.

There were up to 40 people on the walkway when it collapsed Saturday, department Commissioner Walter Rabon said at a news conference Sunday. Authorities believe the seven people who died were visitors to the area.

The walkway was completed in November 2021, Rabon said. “An aluminum walkway like that should require very, very little maintenance,” he said, adding that there were “almost daily inspections.”

A team of engineers and construction specialists were at the dock early Sunday to begin investigating why the failure occurred, Department of Natural Resources spokesman Tyler Jones told The Associated Press.

“The footbridge has been secured on Sapelo Island and the incident is currently under investigation,” the department that manages the island and operates the ferry service said Saturday evening. Ferries typically depart from the Sapelo side dock three times a day, taking visitors to the Meridian Continental Pier.

“The initial findings of our investigation at this stage show a catastrophic failure… of the footbridge, causing it to collapse,” Rabon said.

Among those who died was an agency chaplain, spokeswoman Melissa Cummings confirmed to CNN. Rabon on Sunday described the chaplain, Charles Houston, as “a dear friend who served as the DNR, Georgia State Patrol and Georgia Bureau of Investigation chaplain for the state.”

Houston, who served 40 years as an ordained minister in the United Methodist Church, was also a volunteer firefighter in Plains, Georgia, according to his biography.

Details about the other people who died have not yet been released. Two of the injured were taken by air ambulance to hospitals for treatment, Hodge said.

Savannah State University students were among those rescued Saturday and “are safe,” the university’s Department of Marine and Environmental Sciences said on Facebook.

The Department of Natural Resources said several other emergency agencies helped by deploying boats equipped with side-scanning sonars and helicopters for search and rescue missions. A collection point was set up at an area church where those searching for family members could gather, the McIntosh County Sheriff’s Office said.

CNN has contacted the McIntosh County Sheriff’s Office, McIntosh County EMS and the U.S. Coast Guard for more information.

“I can assure you that the Department of Natural Resources Critical Incident Reconstruction Team will work tirelessly in conjunction with engineers and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to gather … evidence and interview witnesses,” said Rabon.

President Joe Biden spoke with Georgia Governor Brian Kemp and the county commissioner about the collapse. Vice President Kamala Harris said Sunday she was praying for the community.

The tragedy occurred during Gullah-Geechee Cultural Heritage Awareness Month, celebrated in October in the states of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida. The Sapelo Island Cultural and Revitalization Society, which hosts the annual Island Cultural Day festival, said it was grateful for the support people have shown.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and loved ones who lost their lives and were injured,” said the nonprofit, whose mission is to preserve Gullah culture, land and community. Geechee on Sapelo Island, in a Facebook post. . “The Sapelo Island community is grateful for the outpouring of love and support and we ask that you join us in praying for the families of those who have been affected by this tragedy.”

The nearby town of Darien, in McIntosh County, said “a day of celebration turned into tragedy following an accident.”

This tragedy comes after the island suffered damage during Hurricane Helene, including a six-day power outage, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.

“Jill and I mourn those who lost their lives and pray for the injured and all those still missing. We are also grateful to the first responders on scene,” Biden said Saturday.

He added that the White House is in contact with state and local officials to provide any assistance that may be helpful to the community.

Sen. Raphael Warnock of Georgia said he was “deeply saddened” by the news on Sapelo Island, saying it was “a tragic end to a joyous celebration.”

“I pray for the loved ones of those we have sadly lost and those who are still missing,” he said in a message on X on Saturday evening. “The hearts of every Georgian are with the Gullah Geechee community and the people of Sapelo Island tonight.”

Participant’s video captures ‘chaotic’ aftermath of collapse

Tendaji Bailey, a seventh-generation Gullah-Geechee descendant who was on Sapelo Island for Saturday’s well-attended celebration, told CNN after the event ended that rumors began circulating that a bridge had collapsed on the island.

Bailey, 35, said he got in a car with a Gullah-Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor commissioner and drove around trying to locate which bridge might have fallen before arriving at the pier.

“It was a very chaotic scene,” said Bailey, of South Carolina. “A lot of people were in tears, screaming, crying, people were just shocked by the horror of the moment.”

Bailey captured video showing several lifeguards near the shore, from the dock, recovering bodies from the water.

“They were rescuing the bodies that had flown away,” Bailey said.

One of his videos showed a man running with an orange stretcher. Bailey said he saw at least two people on the dock receiving CPR.

“Just thinking about people being shocked after being submerged in water is terrifying,” Bailey said.

“It’s simply an unthinkable moment, (unimaginable), especially after such a wonderful event,” he said. “It was really, really horrible.”

‘Everyone is family’ in one of Georgia’s last Gullah-Geechee communities

Sapelo Island – a barrier island off the coast of Georgia accessible only by boat or ferry – is home to the Hogg Hammock community of a few dozen full-time residents, according to Explore Georgia. Many of them are known as the Gullah-Geechee people, descendants of African slaves brought to the island in 1802 and working on coastal plantations.

Members of Hogg Hammock’s Gullah-Geechee community are extremely close, having been “bonded by family, bonded by history and bonded by struggle,” Roger Lotson of the McIntosh County Board of Commissioners told the AP. His district includes Sapelo Island.

“Everyone is family and everyone knows each other,” Lotson said. “In any tragedy, especially like this, they are one. They are all united. They all feel the same pain and hurt.

Historians believe Hogg Hammock, which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996, is one of the last surviving Gullah-Geechee communities on the Georgia Sea Islands.

This extremely close-knit community has retained many of its West African cultural traditions and languages, passing them down from one generation to the next. This includes practicing the ancient African art of basket weaving, maintaining the folk tradition of ring music, making a living by fishing for shrimp and harvesting oysters, and speaking an English Creole vernacular. known as Gullah.

On Saturday, island residents and visitors attended the six-hour Cultural Day that honored Gullah-Geechee traditions with African dance performances, native food vendors and historical tours.

Jerald J. Thomas, pastor of Elm Grove Church near the site of the collapse, told CNN affiliate WTOC that the community came together to help after the tragedy.

“They came together quickly and started sending the things needed to make people’s stay, while they were going through this tragic time, more bearable,” Thomas said.

A number of the island’s residents are older and on fixed incomes, Sapelo Island descendant Josiah “Jazz” Watts previously told CNN. A zoning change last year increasing the maximum square footage of a heated and cooled home sparked concern from residents who said it would allow the wealthy to build properties in the community and lead to high property taxes.

Only 29 original descendants remain in the community, Maurice Bailey, a local historian and ninth-generation Hogg Hammock resident, told CNN last year. He estimated that descendants own 63 percent of the properties and 75 percent of the land area on Sapelo Island.