Dramatic video captures horrific ferry gangway collapse in Georgia that killed 7

As a new video came to light Monday showing the chaos and calamity of a ferry gangway collapse on a historic Georgia island that left seven senior citizens dead and three critically injured, survivors shared harrowing details of the disaster.
The new video taken by a witness and shared with ABC News captured the immediate aftermath of what authorities described as a “catastrophic failure” of an 80-foot aluminum ferry gangway Saturday afternoon at a landing dock on Sapelo Island, about 70 miles south of Savannah.
The dramatic footage showed numerous people screaming for help and clinging to the gangway as half of it lay in the water. Rescuers, including good Samaritans, are seen in the video pulling people from the crippled gangway to safety as many other victims appeared to be caught in a strong current carrying them away from shore as life jackets were being thrown to them by the crew of a ferry they were about to board.
Investigators removed the gangway from the water Sunday evening. Video taken by an ABC News crew showed the gangway being placed on a barge and taken to a secure location off-site to be closely examined.
“We’re continuing to move forward with the pieces of the investigation in cooperation with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources [DNR],” Kate Karwacki, the McIntosh County commissioner, told ABC News on Monday.
The cause of the collapse remains under investigation.
The incident unfolded just before 4 p.m. on Saturday during an annual cultural event hosted by the island’s Gullah Geechee people, descendants of enslaved Africans who were brought to the southeastern United States. More than 700 visitors flocked to the island on Saturday for the event, officials said.
DNR Commissioner Walter Rabon said at a news conference Sunday that at least 20 people were on the gangway when it plummeted into the water.
Rabon said at least 20 other people, including DNR staff and good Samaritans, jumped into the water to save people, preventing the loss of many lives.
Those killed were identified by the McIntosh County Coroner as Jacqueline Crews Carter, 75; Cynthia Gibbs, 74; Carlotta McIntosh, 93; and Isaiah Thomas, 79. They were all from Jacksonville, Georgia.
Also killed, according to the coroner, were William Johnson, Jr., 73, and Queen Welch, 76, both of Atlanta; and 77-year-old Charles Houston of Darien, Georgia, the chaplain for the DNR and the Georgia State Patrol.
J.R. Grovner, a boat captain and tour guide who lives on Sapelo Island, told ABC News that once word of the tragedy reached him, he raced to the dock in his boat and began rescuing people from the water.
“I tried CPR on some people, it was too late,” Grovner said.
Grovner said he also pulled a baby from the water and brought her to an ambulance on the mainland.
“If I wasn’t there to bring her across, she might have not made it. But she actually made it and she’s safe,” Grovner said.
Zelda Johnson told ABC News that she attended the Gullah Geechee cultural event with her husband, William Johnson Jr., and her cousin, Queen Welch, who both died in the incident.
Johnson said she was also on the gangway when it collapsed but was saved “by the grace of God.”
“He loved doing little weekend getaways,” Johnson said of her husband of 35 years and the father of their two children. “He served 28 years in the U.S. Air Force. He loved serving others. He served at his church as a deacon and he was presently studying to be a minister. He was loved by many.”
Johnson described Welch as being “very warm and giving” and a woman who loved to travel.
“This was a trip she planned for us to do. She really enjoyed the day,” Johnson said of Welch.
Fran Timmons Lewis told ABC News that she and her brother left the island on a ferry ahead of five other people they attended the cultural event with when they received word of the gangway collapse. They said they spent hours frantically trying to find out if the other members of their group survived.
“One is in Savannah with a broken leg or ankle … they’re alive,” Lewis said. “Some of the members that went into the water, they’ve checked out of the hospital.”
National civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump said on Monday that he has been retained by the families of three people who were killed in the tragedy. Crump, who did not immediately say who he is representing, plans to hold a news conference Wednesday with their grieving relatives.
“The tragic deaths and injuries caused by the collapse of the Sapelo Island dock gangway are devastating for these families and the entire community,” Crump said in a statement. “We will not rest until we uncover the truth behind this catastrophic failure and hold those responsible accountable. This should never have happened, and it is crucial that we prevent future tragedies by addressing the negligence that led to this horrific event.”