Special to the Herald
DARIEN – As many as 40 people may have been on a gangway leading to a boat dock before it collapsed Saturday afternoon, resulting in seven deaths, a state official said Sunday.
Walter Rabon, commissioner of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, said the investigation into Saturday’s gangway collapse at Sapelo Island is ongoing. Approximately 20 people were sent into the water at Marsh Landing Dock when the gangway, which was completed in November 2021, gave way.
Rabon said at a Oct. 20 news conference there was a “catastrophic failure of the gangway.”
“I can assure you the Department of Natural Resources critical incident reconstruction team will be working tirelessly with engineers and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to gather and preserve evidence and to interview witnesses,” he said.
All those on the dock have been accounted for, Rabon said. All seven who perished were visitors to the annual Cultural Day on Sapelo Island, a celebration of the island’s Gullah-Geechee heritage. Cultural Day, put on by the Sapelo Island Cultural and Revitalization Society, is the organization’s biggest event in celebrating the Gullah-Geechee heritage and community.
The event drew hundreds of visitors to the island, Rabon said.
After the gangway collapsed, DNR staff, McIntosh County Sheriff’s Office personnel and others dove into the water to try to rescue victims.
“Their quick response and action saved additional lives,” Rabon said.
The ferry Annemarie was tied up at the dock, awaiting passengers, and did not factor into the gangway’s collapse, Rabon said.
“It’s my understanding the gangway collapsed in the middle,” he said. “I can’t tell you at this point in time what happened.”
The DNR operates a state park on Sapelo Island and Rabon said the traffic for the ferry on a typical day is about 100 people. The DNR was running two boats throughout the day to accommodate the several hundred people on the island Saturday.
State Speaker of the House Jon Burns (R-Newington) said hearts across the state are going to those families who lost loved ones in Saturday’s collapse.
“We are resilient people in Georgia,” he said. “We will all pull together.”
Burns was joined by state Rep. Buddy DeLoach, whose district includes Sapelo Island, and state Rep. Al Williams, whose district once covered Sapelo Island. Williams said the fatalities and those injured included friends of his, and he recalled going to church on the island when he was 5 years old.
“I do know this about Sapelo and this part of Georgia – these are people of great faith and through that faith, it will bring us through,” he said. “We are a people that believe God does not make mistakes. And we believe there is something good that will come out of us.”
Rabon said that only those who live on Sapelo or have business there are allowed on the island as the investigation continues.
The DNR has created a website where it is posting updates at: Sapelo Island Incident | Department Of Natural Resources Division. According to the website, the gangway was last inspected in December 2023 by Townsend, GA-based Crescent Equipment Company.
