At least 7 dead in Georgia dock collapse on US Atlantic coast
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The accident happened during a celebration of Sapelo Island's tiny Gullah-Geechee community of black slave descendants.
PHOTO: SCREENGRABS FROM X
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GEORGIA - At least seven people were killed after part of a boat dock collapsed, sending at least 20 people into the Atlantic waters off the coast of the US state of Georgia.
US Coast Guard ships were searching on the night of Oct 19 for missing people.
The accident, which also caused multiple injuries, happened during a celebration of Sapelo Island’s tiny Gullah-Geechee community of black slave descendants, the authorities said.
A gangway that was crowded with people waiting for a ferry collapsed late in the afternoon of Oct 19, on the Georgia barrier island about 97km south of Savannah, said Mr Tyler Jones, a spokesman for the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR), which runs the ferry.
“We and multiple agencies are searching for survivors,” Mr Jones said.
Coast Guard helicopters and boats equipped with sonar immediately began search-and-rescue operations, officials said. The cause of the accident was not immediately clear.
Sapelo Island is reachable only by boat, and the state-run ferry takes about 20 minutes to reach its shores.
People were marking Cultural Day, an annual festival celebrating the island’s historic black community of descendants of former enslaved people, one of several surviving island communities from Georgia to North Carolina.
The people, known as Gullah, or Geechee in Georgia, are believed to have retained much of their African heritage because of their isolation.
The Georgia DNR said in a statement: “Our thoughts and prayers go out to all involved, including the entire Sapelo Island Community.” REUTERS
