Multiple people are still missing after a dock ramp collapsed on Georgia's Sapelo Island on Saturday, killing at least seven people and seriously injuring six others, authorities said.
The Camden County Sheriff's Office has released new images of divers searching for survivors in the murky waters surrounding the gangway that connected the ferry boat to the island.
“Several individuals are still reported missing,” the office wrote on social media. “We worked with many agencies on search and recovery efforts.”
One of those who died in the disaster was Charles Houston, a respected pastor and chaplain with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, his wife confirmed to the Post.
At least 20 people plunged into the ocean when an aluminum structure suddenly buckled and collapsed during an event honoring descendants of black slaves, authorities said.
Witnesses saw an elderly woman carrying a walker fall and at least four bodies floating face down in the low tide.
Eight people were hospitalized and six were in critical condition, said Tyler Jones, a spokesman for the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.
Officials are still trying to figure out why the structure, built in 2021, failed.
Jones said there were “no collisions” with boats or anything else. “It just fell apart. I don't know why.”
The deadly collapse came at the end of a gathering of island residents, families and tourists for Culture Day, an annual fall event highlighting Hog Hammock, a small island community home to a few dozen black residents. I woke up inside.
The community of dirt roads and modest homes was founded by former slaves from Thomas Spalding's cotton plantation after the Civil War.
Roger Lotson, the only black member of the McIntosh County Commission, said the descendants of Hog Hammock slaves are very close-knit, “bound by family, bound by history, bound by struggle.” Ta. His district includes Sapelo Island.
“Everyone is family and everyone knows each other,” Lotson said. “In any tragedy, especially a tragedy like this one, they're all one. They're all united. They're all feeling the same pain, the same hurt.”
–With post wire
