Seven people were killed Saturday after part of a ferry dock collapsed on Georgia’s Sapelo Island during an event honoring Black slave descendants, authorities said.
“There have been seven fatalities confirmed,” a spokesperson for the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, which operates the dock, said, according to reports.
He added that multiple people were taken to the hospital, as rescue crews from the U.S. Coast Guard, the McIntosh County Fire Department, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources and others were searching the water, according to a spokesperson for the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, which operates the dock, according to reports.
The gangway at the dock collapsed and sent people plummeting into the water, Tyler Jones said.
The tragedy happened as crowds gathered on the island to celebrate its tiny Gullah-Geechee community of Black slave descendants.
Among the dead was a chaplain from a state agency.
Helicopters and boats used side-scanning sonar to look for victims, according to a Department of Natural Resources statement.
Officials said there were at least 20 people on the fallen gangway, which was connected to an outer dock where people board the ferry.
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