Walter Rabon, commissioner of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, which operates the ferries and dock, said about 20 people fell into the water. Up to 40 could have been on the gangway at the time of the failure,

Life jackets bobbed in the water, people formed a human chain to pass survivors to safety and bodies were carried ashore in blankets.

Georgia officials are investigating after a freak ferry dock collapse on Sapelo Island killed at least seven people and injured an unknown number of others.