At least seven killed when dock collapses on Georgia island during slave descendants celebration

At least seven people died Saturday when a ferry dock collapsed on Georgia’s Sapelo Island during a celebration of slave descendants, plunging victims into the waters, authorities said.

Multiple victims were taken to hospitals, and crews from the U.S. Coast Guard and other first responders searched the waters for more people, Georgia Department of Natural Resources spokesperson Tyler Jones told The Associated Press.

Jones said a gangway at the dock collapsed as crowds gathered to celebrate the island’s tiny Gullah-Geechee community of black slave descendants. About 20 people were plunged into the waters, he said.

“There have been seven fatalities confirmed,” Jones told AP.

The DNR operates the dock, and Jones said authorities did not know what caused the collapse.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp expressed sorrow at the tragedy, and asked residence to stay away, so that first responders had the best chance to save more victims.

“Marty, the girls, and I are heartbroken by today’s tragedy on Sapelo Island,” Kemp wrote on X. “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.”