Sapelo Island, Georgia: A collapse at the ferry dock killed seven people and turned the celebration into a tragedy

CNN
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Authorities are working to determine the cause of the partial collapse of the ferry pier on Georgia's Sapelo island, which turned a day of celebration into a tragedy and left at least seven dead and six seriously injured as crowds gathered for a cultural festival.

During a celebration honoring the island's small Gullah-Geechee community of black slave descendants, a gangway at the visitor ferry dock collapsed shortly before 4 p.m. Saturday, throwing at least 20 people into the water, Georgia Department of Natural Resources Capt. Chris Hodge said at a press conference on Saturday evening.

It remains unclear why the Marsh Landing Dock collapsed. A team of engineers and construction specialists plans to be at the dock early Sunday to begin investigating the reasons for the failure, Natural Resources spokesman Tyler Jones told the Associated Press.

“The gangway was secured on Sapelo Island and the incident is under investigation,” the Georgia DNR, which manages the island and operates the ferry service, said in a news release Saturday evening. Ferries typically depart three times daily from the Sapelo dock and take visitors to the mainland dock in Meridian.

Among the deceased was a DNR clergyman, Georgia DNR spokeswoman Melissa Cummings confirmed this to CNN. Details of other people who died have not yet been released. Two of the injured were flown by rescue helicopter to hospitals for treatment, Hodge said.

The state's Department of Natural Resources said several other emergency agencies assisted by deploying boats with side-scan sonar and helicopters for search and rescue missions. A meeting point has been set up at a local church for those searching for family members to meet, the McIntosh County Sheriff's Office said.

CNN has reached out to the McIntosh County Sheriff's Office, McIntosh County EMS and the U.S. Coast Guard for more information.

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 island's annual 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,” the nonprofit organization, whose mission is to preserve the Gullah-Geechee culture, land and community of Sapelo Island, said in a Facebook post. “The Sapelo Island community is grateful for the love and support they have shown us, and we ask that you join us in praying for the families of those affected by this tragedy.”

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

Both President Joe Biden and Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said in separate statements Saturday that they were “heartbroken” over news of the collapse. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, the tragedy occurred after the island suffered damage during Hurricane Helene, including a six-day power outage.

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

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

“As state and local first responders continue to work this active scene, we ask all Georgians to join us in praying for those lost, those still in danger, and their families,” Kemp said in a post on X.

Georgia Senator Raphael Warnock said he was “deeply saddened” by the news from Sapelo Island, saying it was “a tragic end to a joyful celebration.”

“We pray for the families of those we sadly lost and those who are still missing,” he said in a post on X Saturday evening. “The heart of every Georgian goes out to the Gullah Geechee community and people tonight on Sapelo Island.”

Sapelo Island – a barrier island off the coast of Georgia that is only accessible by boat or ferry – is home to the Hog Hammock community with a few dozen members Full-time residents, according to Explore Georgia. Many of them are known as the Gullah-Geechee people, descended from enslaved Africans who were brought to the island in 1802 and worked on coastal plantations.

Hogg Hammock's Gullah-Geechee community members are very close because they are “connected by family, by history and by struggle,” Roger Lotson of the McIntosh County Board of Commissioners told the AP. His district includes the island of Sapelo.

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

Historians believe Hogg Hammock, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996, is one of the last surviving Gullah Geechee communities in the Georgia Sea Islands. The extremely close-knit community has retained many of its West African cultural traditions and languages, passing them on from one generation to the next. This includes practicing the ancient African art of basket weaving, keeping alive the folk tradition of ring-shout music, making a living from shrimping and oyster harvesting, and speaking in an English-based Creole vernacular called Gullah.

On Saturday, islanders and visitors took part in the six-hour cultural day that honored Gullah-Geechee traditions with African dance performances, native food vendors and historical tours.

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

“They quickly came together and began sending the necessary items to make people's stay more bearable during this tragic time,” Thomas said.

A number of islanders are older and on fixed incomes, Sapelo Island descendant Josiah “Jazz” Watts previously told CNN. Last year, a zoning change that increased the maximum square footage of a heated and cooled home was met with concern among residents. They said this 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% of the land and 75% of the area on Sapelo Island.