At least seven people were tragically killed on Saturday in Georgia amid a cultural gathering when part of a ferry dock collapsed on Sapelo Island.
Officials said the incident happened during the celebration with the Gullah-Geechee community’s black slave descendants, the Associated Press (AP) reported.
An image shows the portion of the dock that collapsed:
Eight people involved were transported to hospitals and six among the group suffered critical injuries.
A nearby church functioned as a reunification site after the tragedy occurred, according to First Coast News:
Per the AP article, crews with several agencies including the U.S. Coast Guard, the McIntosh County Fire Department, and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources launched a search of the water.
According to Georgia Department of Natural Resources spokesperson Tyler Jones, people fell into the water when a gangway collapsed.
“A team of engineers and construction specialists planned to be on site early Sunday to begin investigating why the walkway failed, he said,” the AP article stated, adding that Jones noted there was no collision with a boat or other vessel, but the structure collapsed and officials do not currently know what caused it to do so.
Jones said one of the people killed was a chaplain, adding there were approximately 20 individuals on the gangway when the incident occurred.
According to NewsNation, “As crowds were boarding the ferry to return to the mainland, a gangway connecting the outer dock to the main shore collapsed,” a reporter for the outlet said:
In a social media post on Saturday evening, Gov. Brian Kemp (R-GA) expressed his grief over the loss of life.
“Marty, the girls, and I are heartbroken by today’s tragedy on Sapelo Island,” he wrote:
“As state and local first responders continue to work this active scene, we ask that all Georgians join us in praying for those lost, for those still in harm’s way, and for their families,” Kemp concluded.
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