Survivors of the aluminum walkway collapse on Georgia's Sapelo Island that killed seven people and injured at least three others have revealed details of what authorities are calling a “catastrophic failure.”
At approximately 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR) crews responded to the Marsh Landing Dock after “a gangway collapsed, sending at least 20 people into the water,” according to a press release. did.
The gangway collapse occurred as about 700 people were on the island celebrating the Gullah-Geechee community, descendants of black slaves. FOX 5 Atlanta reported.
“It was chaotic. It was terrible,” island resident Reginald Hall told The Associated Press. He charged into the water and was handed a young child to others to take over, forming a human chain 60 meters to shore.
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Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024 A side view and close-up of part of the gangway that collapsed Saturday afternoon can still be seen on Sapelo Island in McIntosh County, Georgia. (AP Photo/Louis Levin)
“I couldn't sleep last night,” Ed Grosvenor, who works on one of the state-run ferries that connect the island to the mainland, told The Associated Press. “My wife said I was sleeping. I was screaming in my sleep, 'I'm going to help you, I'm going to help you, I'm going to get you!'”
Resident Jazz Watts accompanied the visitors, sampling island foods such as smoked mullet and gumbo, and giving demonstrations on making fishing nets and quilts. At that time, rumors spread that a disaster was about to occur.
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On Sunday, October 20, 2024, Georgia Department of Natural Resources Secretary Walter Labone speaks with Georgia Representative Buddy DeLoach, Representative Al Williams, Georgia House Speaker John Burns, and McIntosh Sheriff Stephen Jessup. Together with him, he will address the media at the Sapelo Island Visitor Center. (AP Photo/Louis Levin)
Watts said when they arrived at the dock, they found emergency responders and civilians trying to pull people out of the water and administer CPR and first aid.
“It's devastating,” Watts said. “When I saw people being brought in in blankets, dead.”
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Festival goers from the Gullah Geechee Festival on Sapelo Island leave Elm Grove Church where they were taken to reunite with loved ones on Sapelo Island, McIntosh County, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. . (AP Photo/Louis M. Levine)
Georgia DNR Director Walter Labon said an accident reconstruction team working with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation is trying to determine the cause of the “catastrophic failure” of the state dock, which was rebuilt in 2021.
“Aluminum walkways like this require very little maintenance,” Labon says.
A hearse heads to Meridian Docks in McIntosh County where a gangway collapses, plunging several people into the water, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024, on Georgia's Sapelo Island in McIntosh County. (AP Photo/Louis Levin)
Part of the gangway that collapsed Saturday afternoon is still visible on Sapelo Island in McIntosh County, Georgia, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Louis Levin)
Georgia DNR officials announced Sunday afternoon that the gangway was last inspected by Crescent Equipment Company in December 2023. Up to 40 people were standing on the gangway when the power went out.
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According to FOX 5, authorities identified the victims as: Carlotta McIntosh, 93, of Jacksonville. Isaiah Thomas, 79, of Jacksonville. Jacqueline Cruz Carter, 75, of Jacksonville. Cynthia Gibbs, 74, of Jacksonville. Charles L. Houston, 77, of Darien. Queen Welch of Atlanta, 76 years old. and William Johnson Jr., 73, of Atlanta.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
