Georgia islanders rushed to rescue survivors after dock walkway collapse that killed 7

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — Orange life jackets bobbed in the water, where bystanders rushed to form a human chain for passing survivors to safety. Others shouldered the task of wrapping dead bodies in blankets and carrying them to shore.

The frantic scene after an aluminum gangway collapsed Saturday at a boat dock on a Georgia barrier island capped what was supposed to have been a day of celebration, an annual festival spotlighting the culture and history of Sapelo Island's tiny Gullah-Geechee community of Black slave descendants.

The collapse occurred as visitors were boarding a ferry back to the mainland. Officials say up to 40 people were standing on the gangway when it gave out. At least 20 plunged into the Atlantic waters, where a strong tidal current threatened to pull them out to sea.

“It was chaotic. It was horrible,” said island resident Reginald Hall, who charged into the water and was handed a young child to pass along to others forming a human chain 60 yards (55 meters) to the shore.

Seven people died and three others remained hospitalized Sunday, said Walter Rabon, commissioner of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.

He said an accident reconstruction team, working with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, was working 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.

Saturday was one of the busiest days of the year on largely unspoiled Sapelo Island, about 60 miles (100 kilometers) south of Savannah. An estimated 700 people traveled to the island for the Cultural Day festival organized by the few dozen residents of Hogg Hummock. The enclave of dirt roads and modest homes was founded after the Civil War by freed slaves from an island plantation.

Hog Hummock is among a shrinking cluster of small Southern communities descended from enslaved island populations known as Gullah, or Geechee in Georgia. Scholars say residents retain much of their African heritage — including a unique dialect and skills such as cast-net fishing and basket weaving — because of their separation from the mainland.

No bridge links the island to the mainland, and most rely on state-operated ferries for the 7-mile (11-kilometer) trip.

Ed Grovner works on one of those ferries. As it pulled up to the dock Saturday afternoon, the crew noticed life jackets tossed to the victims in the water, which can be 36 feet (11 meters) deep at high tide.

Grover said his crew reached a man and a woman, but they were already dead.

“I couldn’t sleep last night,” Grovner told The Associated Press. “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.’”

Hogg Hummock 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.

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.”

JR Grovner loaded an injured woman into a pickup truck and drove her to an overgrown field pocked with holes dug by wild hogs that was being used for helicopter evacuations.

Sapelo Island residents sued McIntosh County and the state of Georgia in federal court in 2015, arguing they lacked basic services including resources for handling medical emergencies. In a 2022 settlement, county officials agreed to build a helicopter pad on the island — something Grovner, Hall and Watts all say still hasn’t happened.

Watts said that a private healthcare provider had planned to open a clinic in a county-owned building long used as a community center. But the deal fell through when commissioners opted to lease the space for a restaurant.

“It’s obvious that the local officials aren’t doing everything they need to be doing,” Watts said. “Those things would have absolutely helped because every second matters.”

Patrick Zoucks, the county manager, did not immediately respond to an email message seeking comment.

The ferry dock was rebuilt three years ago after Georgia officials settled the same 2015 lawsuit by island residents, who complained that state-operated ferry boats and docks failed to meet federal accessibility standards for the disabled.

Grovner said he complained to a ferry captain months ago that the gangway didn’t seem sturdy enough, but nothing happened.

Rabon said he wasn’t aware of any prior complaints.

After the collapse, the U.S. Coast Guard and local sheriff's and fire departments rushed to the island, using boats and helicopters.

Rabon said none of those killed were island residents. He identified only one, Charles Houston Jr., a chaplain for the Natural Resources agency.

Hogg Hummock, also known as Hog Hammock, was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996.

But the community’s population has been shrinking for decades, and some families have sold their land to outsiders for vacation homes. Last year, county commissioners approved zoning changes that doubled the size of homes allowed in Hogg Hummock. That raised fears among residents that larger homes could spur tax increases that could force them to sell land their families have held for generations.

Wagster Pettus reported from Jackson, Mississippi.

Georgia Department of Natural Resources Commissioner Walter Rabon addresses the media at the Sapelo island visitors center, alongside Georgia State Rep. Buddy DeLoach, Rep. Al Williams, Ga House Speaker Jon Burns and McIntosh Sheriffs Stephen Jesup Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Lewis Levine)

Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Captain Chris Hodge speaks during a news conference after a gangway collapse on Sapelo Island, Ga in McIntosh county, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Lewis M. Levine)

A hearse heads to Meridian Dock in McIntosh county where several people after a gangway collapsed plunging them into the water, on Sapelo Island, Ga in McIntosh county, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Lewis M. Levine)

A portion of the gangway which collapsed Saturday afternoon remains visible on Sapelo Island in McIntosh county, Ga., Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Lewis Levine)

FILE - The sun rises over Sapelo Island, Ga., a Gullah-Geechee community, on June 10, 2013. (AP Photo/David Goldman, File)

Festival goers who attended a Gullah Geechee festival on Sapelo Island leave the Elm Grove Church where they were taken to reunite with loved ones on Sapelo Island, Ga in McIntosh county, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Lewis M. Levine)

A portion of the gangway which collapsed Saturday afternoon remains visible on Sapelo Island in McIntosh county, Ga., Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Lewis Levine)

NEW YORK (AP) — Minnesota coach Cheryl Reeve said the WNBA championship was “stolen” from the Lynx during her complaints about the officiating Sunday night.

The New York Liberty beat the Lynx 67-62 in Game 5 in overtime, getting there after a disputed foul gave Breanna Stewart two free throws that tied the game with 5.2 seconds remaining in regulation.

“We know we could have done some things, right, but you shouldn’t have to overcome to that extent,” Reeve said. “This s—- ain’t that hard. Officiating is not that hard.”

Reeve, who has led the Lynx to four WNBA championships and coached the U.S. women to an Olympic gold medal this summer in Paris, said she was aware there would be headlines about her complaining.

“Bring it on,” she said, “because that s—- was stolen from us.”

The Liberty shot 25 free throws, while the Lynx went 7 for 8. Minnesota was called for 21 fouls to New York's 17, with All-Star forward Napheesa Collier, the WNBA's Defensive Player of the Year, fouling out.

Reeve took particular issue with the foul on Alanna Smith with Minnesota holding a 60-58 lead. Stewart drove into the lane and appeared to take the shot before there was any contact. The Lynx challenged the call, but it was upheld after video review.

Reeve called the contact “marginal at best.”

“This sucks,” she said, after mentioning faulty officiating in Minnesota's loss in the 2016 WNBA Finals. “This is for a championship, for both teams. Let them decide it. What contact is legal should be the same for both teams.”

AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball

Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve reacts during the third quarter of Game 5 of the WNBA basketball final series against the New York Liberty, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)