FILE: Twenty years since Estonia ferry disaster

Record ID: 241397

  • Title: FILE: Twenty years since Estonia ferry disaster
  • Date: 25th September 2014
  • Summary: EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: THIS EDIT CONTAINS MATERIAL WHICH WAS ORIGINALLY 4:3 RESENDING WITH FULL SCRIPT AT SEA, BETWEEN UTO AND TURKU, FINLAND (FILE - SEPTEMBER 28 & 29, 1994) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (FINNISH NAVAL RESCUE) AERIAL VIEW OF SEA FROM HELICOPTER/SHIPS SURROUNDING RESCUE AREA DIVER PREPARING TO BE LOWERED DIVER ON LIFE RAFT WITH SURVIVOR HELICOPTER CREW WHINCHING UP SURVIVOR SURVIVORS BEING BROUGHT ONBOARD FLOODED LIFE RAFT FULL OF BODIES AT SEA, OFF FINNISH COAST (FILE - SEPTEMBER 28, 1994) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (REUTERS) AERIAL VIEW OF LIFE RAFT IN CHOPPY WATER AERIAL VIEW OF EMPTY BOAT TURKU, FINLAND (FILE - SEPTEMBER 28, 1994) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (REUTERS) BODY BEING UNLOADED FROM HELICOPTER AND LAID ON STRETCHER TURKU, FINLAND (FILE - SEPTEMBER 29, 1994) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF HOSPITAL, FLAGS AT HALF MAST (SOUNDBITE) (English) SURVIVOR, LARS LAMKA, SPEAKING, SAYING: "We came up to the door to go out on the deck and at that time the ship turned over still more and it was difficult to get out through the door but we managed to open it. And there was a heavy wind blowing and some heavy seas splashing over us and I got out but I don't know if my friend came out on the deck." SURVIVOR, ROLF SORMAN, TALKING TO REPORTERS (SOUNDBITE) (English) SURVIVOR, ROLF SORMAN, SAYING: "One Estonian girl that I tried to hold, after my fingers were so stiff I couldn't hold her, so she went down to the water when a big wave came and went over the boat." UTO, FINLAND (FILE - SEPTEMBER 29, 1994) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (REUTERS) BUILDINGS, FINNISH FLAG AT HALF MAST SOLDIERS UNLOADING COFFIN FROM ARMY VEHICLE SOLDIERS CARRYING COFFIN ONTO NAVAL VESSEL RESIDENTS OF ISLAND WATCHING BODIES BEING LOADED
  • Embargoed: 10th October 2014 13:00
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  • Location: Estonia
  • Country: Estonia
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA777R2RSY4T84ZWJBC9LHYIS69
  • Story Text: Sunday (September 28) will mark the twentieth anniversary of the deaths of 852 people in the worst maritime disaster during peacetime.
    The MS Estonia, carrying 989 people - 803 passengers and 186 crew - sank on a stormy Baltic Sea shortly after midnight on September 28, 1994.
    The ferry had left the Estonian capital Tallinn and was headed for Stockholm in Sweden in weather that was later described as "normally bad" for this time of the year. All scheduled ferries were at sea.
    At around 0100 local time (2200 GMT) when the ferry had reached the outskirts of the Finnish archipelago, a metallic bang was heard, caused by a heavy wave hitting the bow doors. The bang was followed by other similar noises and some fifteen minutes later, the bow's visor separated, the bow door opened and the ship immediately took on a heavy list as water flooded into the car deck.
    The ship disappeared from radar screens at around 2250 GMT and sank some 22 nautical miles from Uto island in less than 85 metres of water.
    Other ferries in the area helped out in the rescue operation and helicopters were dispatched from the mainland.
    They managed to rescue 138 people, including Lars Lamka who spoke of his ordeal.
    "We came up to the door to go out on the deck and at that time the ship turned over still more and it was difficult to get out through the door but we managed to open it. And there was a heavy wind blowing and some heavy seas splashing over us and I got out but I don't know if my friend came out on the deck," he said.
    Rolf Sorman also survived, but an Estonian girl whom he struggled to help was not so lucky.
    "After, my fingers were so stiff I couldn't hold her, so she went down to the water when a big wave came and went over the boat," he said.
    One of the rescued later died in hospital.
    It is thought the accident claimed the lives of 501 Swedes and 285 Estonians by drowning and hypothermia. The rest of the deceased were people of other nationalities.
    Since there were no complete passenger lists, the exact number remains uncertain.
    Following the disaster, a commission was set up to investigate the cause of the accident.
    The official report indicated that the strain of the waves had caused the locks on the bow door to fail and that the subsequent failure of the bow ramp allowed water into the vehicle deck. The report also criticised the monitoring and warning system as well as the crew's actions, as they failed to reduce speed when noises were heard from the bow.
    The water in the vehicle deck was listed as the main cause of the capsizing and sinking.
    Many changes to maritime safety have been put in place following the disaster - such as improvements to training of crews, automated warning systems and new ship designs.
    The Estonia Agreement 1995, a treaty among Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Poland, Denmark, Russia and the United Kingdom, declared sanctity over the site, forbidding their citizens from even approaching the wreck.
    Memorial services will be held in several places in Sweden and also in Estonia on Sunday (September 28).
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