Lawsuits in the 2024 Sapelo Island, Ga., gangway collapse that killed seven people and injured others were announced in separate news conferences.

The ferry dock gangway that collapsed on Georgia’s Sapelo Island last year, killing seven people, was “poorly constructed and destined to fail,” the victims’ families said in a new lawsuit.

On Oct. 19, 2024, more than 20 people fell into the Duplin River when the 80-foot gangway collapsed on Sapelo Island during a Cultural Day celebration.

Survivors and families of the deadly Sapelo Island gangway collapse in Georgia announced a civil action lawsuit against the parties involved in its engineering and construction. On Oct. 19, 2024 ...

On Oct. 19, 2024, more than 20 people fell into the Duplin River when the 80-foot gangway collapsed on Sapelo Island during a Cultural Day celebration.

Nine people, including survivors and family members of the seven people who died in the Sapelo Island gangway collapse on October 19, 2024, gathered at Elm Grove Church in Meridian, Ga. on ...

A still photo of the Sapelo Island Ferry dock taken prior to the ferry dock gangway collapse on Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024, as the last ferry was leaving the island (Photo: John Taylor).

Lawsuits in the 2024 Sapelo Island, Ga., gangway collapse that killed seven people and injured others were announced in separate news conferences.