Nearly 30 years after the sinking of the Baltic Sea ferry “Estonia”, Europe’s largest post-World War II civil shipping disaster with 852 deaths is still a mystery. Now investigators could clear up at least a few questions: Accordingly, a new investigation found that neither an explosion on board the ship nor a collision led to the accident.
Researchers from Estonia, Sweden and Finland were involved in the new studies and an interim report was presented on Monday. According to current knowledge, there is no evidence of an explosion in the bow of the ship, according to the report. Accordingly, no traces have been discovered so far that would indicate a collision with a ship or other floating objects.
Doubts about faulty bow sights kept resurfacing
The “Estonia” disaster is considered the worst maritime disaster in post-war European history. There were 989 people on board, only 137 could be saved. According to the official 1997 investigation report, the torn-off bow visor of the “Estonia” was the cause of the sinking – but doubts were repeatedly expressed.
As in 1997, the investigators also found defects in the bow sight. The ferry was not seaworthy. They therefore see no reason to question the closing sentences of that time. What is very important is the human side of the disaster, said the head of the Estonian Accident Commission, Rene Arikas. “Even more than 28 years later, we can see and feel that it hurt a lot of people. We are still grieving.”
Unknown hole discovered while filming documentary
Because many of the dead could not be recovered, the wreck “Estonia” is protected as a resting place and may not be visited. For a documentary, a Swedish film team lowered a diving robot into the wreck in September 2019. Among other things, they discovered a previously unknown hole in the right fuselage several meters wide, which eventually led to the new investigation by the authorities.
Source: Krone
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