At least 7 dead after ferry dock walkway collapses on Georgia’s Sapelo Island – WABE

Updated at 9:55 p.m.

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

Eight people were taken to hospitals, including at least six with serious injuries, and crews from the U.S. Coast Guard, McIntosh County Fire Department, Georgia Department of Natural Resources and others were searching water, according to Natural Resources spokesman Tyler Jones. . The agency operates the dock and ferries that transport people between the island and the mainland.

A walkway on the dock collapsed, sending people plunging into the water, Jones said. A team of engineers and construction specialists planned to be on site early Sunday to begin investigating why the walkway failed, he said.

“There was no collision” with a boat or anything else, Jones said. “The thing just collapsed.” We don’t know why.

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.

There were at least 20 people on the walkway when it collapsed, he said. The walkway connected an outer dock where people boarded the ferry to another dock on land.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said he and his family were “heartbroken by today’s tragedy on Sapelo Island.”

“As state and local first responders continue to work this active scene, we ask all Georgians to join us in praying for those who have lost their lives, for those who are still in danger, and for their families,” Kemp said on the social platform X.

President Joe Biden said federal officials were prepared to provide whatever assistance was needed.

“What should have been a joyous celebration of Gullah-Geechee culture and history turned into tragedy and devastation,” Biden said in a statement. “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.

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.

Hogg Hummock’s descendants of slaves are extremely close, having been “bonded by family, bonded by history and bonded by struggle,” said Roger Lotson, the only black member of the McIntosh County Board of Commissioners. 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.

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.

This is a developing story.