The incident occurred at approximately 16:30 local time (20:30 GMT) at Marsh Landing Dock, where a crowd had gathered for a cultural celebration.
According to local reports, it is not yet known what caused the collapse of the walkway connecting the outer pier where people board the ferry to another pier on land.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said he and his family were “heartbroken” by the tragedy and asked that “please pray for those lost, those still at risk, and their families.”
The governor sent “state resources to assist with search, rescue and recovery,” Georgia Representative Buddy Carter said in a post to X.
Local authorities said they had secured the passage and were investigating the incident.
Biden said his team “stands ready to provide whatever support is available to help the community.”
An annual event held at the time of the collapse commemorates the island’s Hogg Hummock community, home to dozens of black residents.
Hogg Hummock was founded by newly freed former slaves from a plantation on the Georgia coast who settled on Sapelo Island after the American Civil War, the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation said on its website., external.
“Saturday’s events should have been a joyous celebration of Gulla-Zizi culture and history, but instead turned into tragedy and devastation,” President Biden said in a statement.
Small communities descended from southern slave island populations known as the Gullah or Geechee of Georgia are scattered along the coast from North Carolina to Florida.
Sapelo Island can be reached by boat from the mainland.
