Ferry docks, jetty collapses: Seven dead!

Savannah - Seven people lost their lives in a footbridge collapse in the US state of Georgia.

Former slaves founded a community called "Gullah-Geechee" on Sapelo Island after the Civil War - their descendants wanted to honor them at a festival on Saturday, as the US broadcasterABC reported on Sunday.

The island can only be reached by boat, so visitors arrived by ferry from the mainland.

After a ferry had docked, a tragic accident occurred: when around 20 people disembarked and wanted to walk across the jetty to the dock on the island, the jetty collapsed under their feet for reasons that are as yet unexplained.

A total of seven people lost their lives and eight others were taken to hospital with sometimes critical injuries. The coastguard was deployed to rescue the people from the water and search for missing persons.

According to the report,US President Joe Biden (81) reacted with dismay to the sad incident: "What should have been a joyous celebration of Gullah-Geechee culture and history instead turned into tragedy and devastation."