MCINTOSH COUNTY, Ga. — At least seven people were killed and six people were critically injured Saturday after part of a ferry dock collapsed on Sapelo Island in Georgia.
First Coast News Sports Director Chris Porter sat down with two survivors, a mother and her baby, for an exclusive interview that will air on First Coast News+ Tuesday at 6 p.m.
The collapse happened as crowds gathered on the island for a celebration of its tiny Gullah-Geechee community of Black slave descendants.
The 911 call came in at 3:50 p.m. reporting that the gangway at the Marsh Landing Dock on Sapelo Island had collapsed, plunging people into the water below. Officials estimate 20 people went into the water when the gangway collapsed.
Officials believe a structural issue caused the collapse, but an investigation is underway to find the exact cause. The gangway's construction was completed in November 2021, and inspections were "routine," according to officials.
JR Grovnar, a resident and local boat captain, was on the island at the time. He had just finished giving boat tours when he heard about the collapse. He got in his boat and started to help.
"Started pulling people out of the water," he said. "I tried CPR on some people; it was too late. One, the baby that went underwater, she was going in and out. So I actually put her on my boat and brought her to the mainland to the ambulance. You know if I wasn’t there to bring her across she might have not made it, but she actually made it and she’s safe.”
Porter's interview Tuesday evening is with the mother of that baby, who were both saved after the collapse.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
