A minimum of seven individuals have died after a part of a ferry dock collapsed in Georgia’s Sapelo Island on Saturday, native authorities say.
Georgia’s division of pure assets, which operates the dock, mentioned not less than 20 individuals plunged into the water when the gangway collapsed.
The incident occurred at roughly 16:30 native time (20:30 GMT) on the Marsh Touchdown Dock as crowds gathered for a cultural celebration.
A number of individuals have been taken to hospital and search and rescue operations are below means.
US President Joe Biden mentioned he and his spouse Jill mourn the lives misplaced and “pray for the injured and anybody nonetheless lacking”.
It isn’t but identified what prompted the collapse of the walkway, which related an outer dock the place individuals board the ferry to a different dock onshore, based on native experiences.
Brian Kemp, the governor of Georgia, mentioned he and his household had been “heartbroken” by the tragedy and requested for prayers “for these misplaced, for these nonetheless in hurt’s means, and for his or her households”.
The governor has despatched “state assets to assist in search, rescue, & restoration”, Georgia consultant Buddy Carter mentioned in a submit on X.
Native authorities mentioned the gangway has been secured and the incident is below investigation.
Biden mentioned his staff “stand prepared to supply any and all help that may be useful to the group”.
The annual occasion occurring on the time of the collapse celebrates the island’s group of Hogg Hummock, which is dwelling to some dozen Black residents.
Hogg Hummock was based by newly-freed former slaves from plantations in coastal Georgia who settled on Sapelo Island following the US Civil Struggle, the Georgia Belief for Historic Preservation mentioned on its web site.
Saturday’s occasion “ought to have been a joyous celebration of Gullah-Geechee tradition and historical past as a substitute changed into tragedy and devastation”, President Biden mentioned in his assertion.
Small communities descended from enslaved island populations within the South, referred to as Gullah, or Geechee in Georgia, are scattered alongside the coast from North Carolina to Florida.
Sapelo Island is reachable from the mainland by boat.