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A gangway at the dock collapsed, sending people plunging into the water, Jones said. A team of engineers and construction specialists planned to be on site early Sunday to begin investigating why the walkway failed, he said.

69制片厂制作传媒淭here was no collision" with a boat or anything else, Jones said. "The thing just collapsed. We don69制片厂制作传媒檛 know why.69制片厂制作传媒�

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.

There were at least 20 people on the gangway when it collapsed, he said. The gangway connected an outer dock where people board the ferry to another dock onshore.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said he and his family were 69制片厂制作传媒渉eartbroken by today's tragedy on Sapelo Island.69制片厂制作传媒�

69制片厂制作传媒淎s state and local first responders continue to work this active scene, we ask that all Georgians join us in praying for those lost, for those still in harm69制片厂制作传媒檚 way, and for their families,69制片厂制作传媒� Kemp said on the social platform X.

President Joe Biden said federal officials were ready to provide any assistance needed.

69制片厂制作传媒淲hat should have been a joyous celebration of Gullah-Geechee culture and history instead turned into tragedy and devastation,69制片厂制作传媒� Biden said in a statement. 69制片厂制作传媒淛ill and I mourn those who lost their lives, and we pray for the injured and anyone still missing. We are also grateful to the first responders at the scene.69制片厂制作传媒�

Sapelo Island is about 60 miles (97 kilometers) south of Savannah, reachable from the mainland by boat.

The deadly collapse happened as island residents, family members and tourists gathered for Cultural Day, an annual fall event spotlighting the island69制片厂制作传媒檚 tiny community of Hogg Hummock, home to a few dozen Black residents. The community of dirt roads and modest homes was founded after the Civil War by former slaves from the cotton plantation of Thomas Spalding.

Hogg Hummock's slave descendants are extremely close, having been 69制片厂制作传媒渂onded by family, bonded by history and bonded by struggle,69制片厂制作传媒� said Roger Lotson, the only Black member of the McIntosh County Board of Commissioners. His district includes Sapelo Island.

69制片厂制作传媒淓veryone is family, and everyone knows each other,69制片厂制作传媒� Lotson said. 69制片厂制作传媒淚n any tragedy, especially like this, they are all one. They69制片厂制作传媒檙e all united. They all feel the same pain and the same hurt.69制片厂制作传媒�

Small communities descended from enslaved island populations in the South 69制片厂制作传媒� , or Geechee in Georgia 69制片厂制作传媒� are scattered along the coast from North Carolina to Florida. Scholars say their separation from the mainland caused residents to retain much of their African heritage, from their unique dialect to skills and crafts such as cast-net fishing and weaving baskets.

In 1996, Hogg Hummock, also known as Hog Hammock, was placed on the , the official list of the United States69制片厂制作传媒� treasured historic sites.

But the community's population has been shrinking for decades, and some families have sold their land to outsiders who built vacation homes.

Tax increases and zoning changes by the local government in McIntosh County have been met by protests and lawsuits by Hogg Hummock residents and landowners. They have been battling for the past year to undo approved by county commissioners in September 2023 that doubled the size of homes allowed in Hogg Hummock.

Residents say they fear larger homes will lead to tax increases that could force them to sell land their families have held for generations.