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.
At Least 7 People Killed After Georgia Ferry Dock Gangway Collapse: Officials
“I couldn’t sleep last night,” Ed Grovner, who works on one of the state-operated ferries that links the island to the mainland …