At least 7 dead after ferry dock footbridge collapses on G…

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — Authorities said at least seven people were killed Saturday when part of a ferry dock collapsed on Georgia’s Sapelo Island, where crowds had been gathered for a fall celebration by the island’s small Gullah-Geechee community of descendants of black slaves.

Several people were taken to the hospital and crews from the U.S. Coast Guard, McIntosh County Fire Department, Georgia Department of Natural Resources and others were searching the water, according to the spokesperson for natural resources, Tyler Jones. The agency operates the dock and ferries that transport people between the island and the mainland.

Jones said a walkway on the dock collapsed, sending people plunging into the water.

“There have been seven confirmed deaths,” Jones said. “Several people were transported to area hospitals and we continue to search for individuals in the water.”

Helicopters and boats equipped with side-scan sonar were used in the search, according to a statement from the Department of Natural Resources.

Among the dead was a state agency chaplain, Jones said.

Jones said he didn’t know what caused the walkway to collapse, but authorities believe there were at least 20 people there at the time. The walkway connected an outer dock where people boarded the ferry to another dock on land.

Sapelo Island is approximately 60 miles (97 kilometers) south of Savannah, accessible from the mainland by boat.

The deadly collapse occurred as island residents, family members and tourists gathered for Cultural Day, an annual fall event spotlighting the small community of Hogg Hummock, home to a few dozen black residents. The community of dirt roads and modest homes was founded after the Civil War by former slaves on Thomas Spalding’s cotton plantation.

Small communities from the enslaved island populations of the South – known as the Gullah, or Geechee in Georgia – are scattered along the coast from North Carolina to Florida. Researchers say their separation from the continent allowed locals to retain much of their African heritage, from their unique dialect to skills and crafts such as net fishing and basket weaving.

In 1996, Hogg Hummock, also known as Hog Hammock, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the official list of the most treasured historic sites in the United States.

But the community’s population has been declining for decades, and some families have sold their land to outsiders who built vacation homes.

Tax increases and zoning changes by local government in McIntosh County have resulted in protests and lawsuits from Hogg Hummock residents and property owners. They have been fighting for a year to overturn zoning changes approved by county commissioners in September 2023, which doubled the size of homes allowed in Hogg Hummock.

Residents say they fear larger homes will lead to tax increases that could force them to sell land their families have owned for generations.