Trip to 1994 Baltic Sea ferry disaster backs earlier report
ABC News
The Estonian and Swedish accident investigation boards say a research expedition earlier this year to the wreck of a ferry that sank in the Baltic Sea 27 years ago hasn’t provided new evidence contradicting the official accident investigation report
HELSINKI -- The Estonian and Swedish accident investigation boards said Tuesday that a research expedition earlier this year to the wreck of a ferry that sank in the Baltic Sea 27 years ago hasn’t provided new evidence contradicting the official accident investigation report.
In one of Europe’s deadliest peacetime maritime disasters, the M/S Estonia sank in heavy seas on Sept. 28, 1994, killing 852 people, most of them Swedes and Estonians. The ferry was en route from Estonia’s capital, Tallinn, to Stockholm when it sank about 30 minutes after an initial distress call.
Only 137 people on board survived. The fate of the vessel has sparked several conspiracy theories, including that it might have collided with a submarine or that it allegedly carried sensitive military cargo.
The 1997 official joint investigation by Estonia, Finland and Sweden concluded that the ferry sank when its bow door locks failed in a storm. That separated the bow door from the vessel, opening up the ramp to the car deck and causing extensive flooding of the decks.
