Video Confirms Estonia's Bow Door Torn Off In Storm
TURKU, Finland - Locks on the huge front cargo door of the ferry Estonia failed during a storm, letting in water that sank the ship, investigators said today.
More than 900 people died Wednesday in the Baltic Sea.
The investigators' preliminary conclusions were based on more than 15 hours of videotape of the wrecked ship taken by remote-controlled cameras yesterday.
The video showed that the huge door used for loading cars and trucks onto the ferry had "fully separated from the rest of the vessel," the investigators said in a statement. The door was not found.
The door, which lowered from the top like a garage door, was detached from the ship after its locks failed, the investigators said.
The video confirmed stories by survivors and speculation by experts. The video also showed a problem with the inner bow door, which doubles as a ramp that is lowered to let in vehicles.
The door is supposed to be watertight, but investigators said it had been partly dislodged, leaving a gap of about three feet along the top edge that allowed water to rush into the car deck.
The rush of water was "of sufficient magnitude to result in a lack of stability and the capsizing of the ferry," investigators said.
The statement, signed by the official board of inquiry, said "it is not possible to comment further on the reason" the locks failed.
Experts have called into question the design of the Estonia and similar ferries that have large, movable doors and carry hundreds of cars and trucks in stormy seas.
Only 137 people survived when the Estonia sank while en route from Tallinn, Estonia, to Stockholm, Sweden. Memorial services for the dead were held yesterday in Sweden, Estonia and Finland.
The remote cameras did not go inside the sunken ship, which is lying between 180 and 280 feet deep, and did not send back pictures of any bodies, investigators said.
Authorities believe 912 people perished in the disaster. Only 93 bodies have been recovered.