Georgia dock walkway collapse cause under investigation as islanders describe ‘horrible’ aftermath

Survivors of an aluminum gangway collapse on Georgia’s Sapelo Island that killed seven and injured at least three are providing details of what authorities refer to as a “catastrophic failure.”  

Around 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR) crews responded to the Marsh Landing Dock after “at least 20 people went into the water when the gangway collapsed,” according to a press release. 

The gangway collapse happened while about 700 people were on the island to celebrate the Gullah-Geechee community of Black slave descendants, FOX 5 Atlanta reports. 

“It was chaotic. It was horrible,” island resident Reginald Hall told the Associated Press. He charged into the water and was handed a young child to pass along to others, forming a human chain 60 yards to the shore.

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“I couldn’t sleep last night,” Ed Grovner, who works on one of the state-operated ferries that links the island to the mainland told the AP. “My wife said I was sleeping, I was hollering in my sleep, saying, ‘I’m going to save you. I’m going to save you. I’m going to get you.'”

Resident Jazz Watts was with visitors as they sampled island foods like smoked mullet and gumbo, and took in demonstrations on crafting fishing nets and quilts. That’s when word spread of the unfolding disaster.

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Watts said he arrived at the dock to find emergency responders and civilians pulling people from the water and trying to administer CPR and first aid.

“It’s devastating,” Watts said. “When you see people being carried that are wrapped in blankets and they have died.”

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Walter Rabon, commissioner of the Georgia DNR, said an accident reconstruction team working with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation was trying to determine what caused a “catastrophic failure” at the state-operated dock, which had been rebuilt in 2021.

“There should be very, very little maintenance to an aluminum gangway like that,” Rabon said.

The gangway was last inspected in December 2023 by Crescent Equipment Company, Georgia DNR officials said on Sunday afternoon. Up to 40 people were standing on the gangway when it gave out.

Officials identified the victims as the following, according to FOX 5: Carlotta McIntosh, 93, of Jacksonville; Isaiah Thomas, 79, of Jacksonville; Jacqueline Crews Carter, 75, of Jacksonville; Cynthia Gibbs, 74, of Jacksonville; Charles L. Houston, 77, of Darien; Queen Welch, 76, of Atlanta; and William Johnson Jr., 73, of Atlanta.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.