at least seven dead after footbridge collapses during celebrations on Georgia island

At least seven people were killed on Saturday, October 19, in the collapse of a footbridge on a dock where a crowd was gathered for celebrations on Sapelo Island in Georgia, in the southeast of the United States, according to authorities. local.

“At least twenty people fell into the water when the footbridge collapsed. At present, the number of victims is seven and the number of injured is not yet known”the Georgia Department of Natural Resources initially announced in a press release. According to the AP agency, eight people were taken to hospital, including at least six with serious injuries.

The crowd gathered on the dock where the ferries that connect this island very close to the Atlantic coast to the mainland dock for an annual event of the small Gullah Geechee community, descendants of African peoples enslaved on the coastal plantations of the southeast. of the United States. The walkway connected a pier where people boarded a ferry to another pier on land.

“There was no collision with a boat or anything else,” said Tyler Jones, a spokesman for the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. “The structure just collapsed, we don’t know why”he added.

A community that has created its own culture

“What should have been a joyous celebration of Gullah Geechee culture and history turned into a tragedy”lamented American President Joe Biden, quoted in a White House press release. Thanking the rescuers, he said his team would stay in touch with local authorities and stand “ready to provide any assistance needed”.

Helicopters and boats equipped with sonars were used in the search, according to a statement from the Ministry of Natural Resources.

Georgia Governor Brian Kemp also expressed his condolences to the families of the victims on X, adding that emergency services were still on site. An investigation is underway, local authorities said.

Sapelo Island is about 100 kilometers south of Savannah and is accessible from the mainland by boat. Isolated on confetti of land and mangroves scattered along the ocean, the ancestors of the Gullah Geechee relied on the resources of the land and the sea. They created their own culture, nourished by their origins, and even a Creole language.