(SRN NEWS/AP) – Authorities said at least seven people were killed Saturday when part of a ferry dock collapsed on Georgia’s Sapelo Island, where crowds had gathered for a fall celebration by the island’s tiny Gullah-Geechee community of Black slave descendants.
Multiple people were taken to hospitals, and crews from the U.S. Coast Guard, the McIntosh County Fire Department, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources and others were searching the water, according to Natural Resources spokesperson Tyler Jones. The agency operates the dock and ferry boats that transport people between the island and the mainland.
Jones said a gangway at the dock collapsed, sending people plunging into the water.
“There have been seven fatalities confirmed,” Jones said. “There have been multiple people transported to area hospitals, and we are continuing to search the water for individuals.”
Helicopters and boats with side-scanning sonar were used in the search, according to a Department of Natural Resources statement.
Among the dead was a chaplain for the state agency, Jones said.
Jones said he did not know what caused the gangway to collapse, but officials believe there were at least 20 people on it at the time. The gangway connected an outer dock where people board the ferry to another dock onshore.
Sapelo Island is about 60 miles (97 kilometers) south of Savannah, reachable from the mainland by boat.