SAPELO ISLAND, Ga. (AP) – Officials have said an aluminum gangway that collapsed at a boat dock on Sapelo Island on Saturday held about 40 people when the metal snapped.
In a statement to The Associated Press, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR) said engineers calculated that the 80-foot (24-meter) gangway should have been able to support the weight of 320 people.
The dock was rebuilt in 2021 after Georgia officials settled a lawsuit by Hogg Hummock residents who complained the ferries and docks failed to meet federal accessibility standards for people with disabilities.
VIDEO: Chaotic scene as victims pulled from water after Sapelo Island gangway collapse
The same lawsuit also accused McIntosh County of failing to provide adequate resources for responding to emergencies on the island.
When the county settled with residents in 2022, it agreed to build a helicopter pad on Sapelo Island. But residents who scrambled to help save people after the collapse said the landing pad still hasn't been constructed, and a helicopter used to evacuate people Saturday had to land in an overgrown field pocked with holes dug by wild boars.
Sapelo Island also has no medical facilities. Resident Jazz Watts said a health care provider was planning to open a clinic in the county-owned building that had long served as the island's community center. But those plans got scrapped in the past year when county commissioners opted to lease the space for a restaurant.