Georgia authorities said Sunday they are investigating the “catastrophic failure” of a dock gangway that collapsed and killed seven on Sapelo Island, where crowds had gathered for a fall celebration by the island’s tiny Gullah-Geechee community of Black slave descendants.

SAVANNAH, Ga. ‒ Authorities in Georgia were working Sunday to determine what caused a ferry dock to collapse, killing seven people and plunging more than dozen others into murky waters, bringing "tragedy and devastation" to a cultural festival on historic Sapelo Island.

At least seven people were killed on Saturday when the gangway of a ferry dock collapsed on an island in Georgia, forcing at least 20 people into the water, the authorities said.