Read about our approach to external linking. Authors of a new documentary about the Estonia ferry disaster that sank 26 years ago, claim to have found a big hole in the shipwreck. Hoping to avoid prosecution, the film-makers chartered a boat flying the flag of Germany – the only Baltic Sea state not to have signed the 1995 treaty – and sent down a camera attached to “a sort of underwater drone”, said Evertsson. Winds were around 20 meters per second and the waves around 4 … The MS Estonia ferry sank as it was crossing from Tallinn to Stockholm in September 1994, killing 852 people. Of the 852 people killed, 501 were Swedish and 285 were Estonian. Estonia's bottom damage and the hole in the side came to light when a new series of documents tells of a hole more than four meters long found on the side of the ship. Most passengers on board the ship were trapped inside after it capsized, but 97, who managed to leave the vessel, died in the water. - English Subtitles. "What has emerged today adds to the question marks - why was the hole not included in the official investigation?". Ansip: Graves can be exhumed in criminal investigations The film crew discovered the hole in the ship's hull while using a remote-controlled submarine to explore the wreckage. Prime Minister Jüri Ratas (Center) said that a further underwater investigation must be conducted after the footage, filmed by a German diving team, came to light. NATO search-and-rescue personnel and equipment could have saved some lives. Water poured in; within 15 minutes, the Estonia had developed a 60-degree list. It would apparently take a big hit to the side of the ship to cause a hole like that – but that is all we know.”. The three countries said they would "assess new information" which could contradict the official explanation. Estonia’s prime minister, Jüri Ratas, said the documentary’s findings “raise questions that have to be answered”, adding that his country would be taking the lead “to ensure respect for the wreck, and the transparency of the process”. A television documentary aired to coincide with the 26th anniversary of the sinking of the M/S Estonia includes video images from the wreck site showing a hole … A 1997 investigation found that the ship's … “We do not speculate, and we draw no conclusions,” the Swedish documentary film-maker said, carefully. But survivors and relatives of the victims have long been calling for a fuller investigation, and various unproven theories have circulated since the tragedy. A television documentary aired to coincide with the 26th anniversary of the sinking of the M/S Estonia includes video images from the wreck site showing a hole … … Capitol riots: Who broke into the building? We didn’t go near the inside. And the ship went down so incredibly fast.”. What happens to your body in extreme heat? For a quarter of a century, a lack of firm evidence has prevented any real challenge to the official story of how, on a stormy September night, more than 850 people came to die in Europe’s worst peacetime maritime disaster since the second world war. In September, a documentary showed underwater footage, obtained through a dive using a remote-controlled submersible, revealing a hitherto unrecorded four-metre (13-foot) hole in the ship's hull. A film crew that made a documentary about the 1994 M/S Estonia ferry disaster for the Discovery television channel while diving near the wreck found a four-meter-long hole in the hull of the ship, which had previously been partially covered by the seabed, the Estonian daily Postimees writes, cites LETA/BNS. But new underwater footage appears to show a previously unrecorded four metre (13ft) hole in the ship's hull. The vessel was sailing from Estonia to Sweden on 28 September 1994 when it sank in the Baltic Sea off Finland. .css-orcmk8-HeadlineContainer{display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-box-pack:justify;-webkit-justify-content:space-between;-ms-flex-pack:justify;justify-content:space-between;}Capitol riot: Calls grow for Trump to be removed from office.css-1dedj2h-Rank{-webkit-align-self:center;-ms-flex-item-align:center;align-self:center;color:#B80000;margin-left:3.125rem;}1, Elon Musk becomes world's richest person as wealth tops $185bn2, Capitol riot: Five startling images from the siege3, Stella Tennant: Family confirms model's death was suicide4, Capitol riots: Boris Johnson condemns Donald Trump for sparking events5, Capitol riots: Questions mount over security failure6, Capitol riots: Who broke into the building?7, Capitol riots: A visual guide to the storming of Congress8, Covid: WHO urges tougher measures to curb 'alarming' variant9, Two more life-saving Covid drugs discovered10. The Swedish government said on 18 December it would allow a new underwater examination of MS Estonia; the ferry sank in the Baltic sea in 1994 with the loss of 852 lives. “We did not disturb the grave,” he said, “and what we discovered is clearly information that should be in the public domain.”, The reaction from victims’ relatives has been overwhelming. On board were 803 passengers, most of them Swedish, and 186 crew, most of them Estonian. we have been demanding another investigation. - The team discovering the hole in the ship. Joe Biden says it is "totally unacceptable" police showed more leniency in the Capitol riot than at anti-racism protests. “We could have just reported the various theories and left it at that,” said Evertsson, who with his colleague Bendik Mondal led the team behind a new five-part Discovery Networks documentary released this week, Estonia: the Find that Changes Everything. Makers of the five-part documentary series, which was released for streaming on Monday, claimed to have found a hitherto unrecorded four-metre (13-foot) hole in the ship's hull. Flying time was under 1 hour. He insisted Sweden “has not lied” about the ship’s fate, and would “rule nothing out”, including new dives, of any new probe. He is surprised by the charge, which he denies. Candles at a ceremony to mark the 25th anniversary of the MS Estonia maritime disaster, in Tallinn, Estonia. It has been consistently denied. Sweden’s prime minister, Stefan Löfven, said the country’s accident investigation board would examine the evidence. New insights … Now we know.”, As a Swedish national, Evertsson finds himself facing prosecution in Gothenburg district court for violating a protected site. The 1997 report by an accident investigation committee set up jointly by Estonia, Sweden and Finland concluded that the locks on the bow visor failed, allowing it to tear free and expose the doors and ramp, which gave way, flooding the car deck. One explanation suggested in the documentary is that the MS Estonia collided with a submarine, and the hull of the submarine caused the hole to be ripped in the hull of the ferry. He told local media “a collision with a submarine” could have been to blame – and suggested a Swedish sub was in the area. Caused by myriad reasons, this Baltic Sea accident was an event so unprecedented that the extent of the damages caused, both to life and to property, is still shocking even after almost 15 years since the disaster occurred. A 1997 investigation found that the ship's bow door locks had failed in a storm. I mean, a huge hole: 4 metres high, 1.2 metres wide.”. "Our countries will cooperate closely in this matter and Estonia [where the ship was registered] will lead this process," they added. All other scheduled ferries were at sea. "A new technical investigation into the circumstances of Estonia's sinking must be carried out," Estonia's Prime Minister Juri Ratas said, according to local media. 0:00. A mangled mayday signal was sent. But for 26 years now, they have said that what we have found did not exist. New evidence emerges in Europe’s worst peacetime maritime disaster - the sinking of MS Estonia in 1994, Last modified on Mon 5 Oct 2020 02.22 EDT. We saw nothing. The Estonia was on its way from the Estonian capital of Tallinn to Stockholm when it sank in the Baltic Sea in September 1994. A television documentary aired to coincide with the 26th anniversary of the sinking of the M/S Estonia includes video images from the wreck site showing a hole … "A hole in the hull was dismissed over the years," Kent Harstedt, a survivor and former member of the Swedish parliament, told a news conference on Monday. A crew member who survived the accident told the BBC at the time that he had seen a loading bay door open and taking in water minutes before the ship sank. It was a hole, way bigger than a film frame. Sweden’s government decision follows the screening of a new footage that revealed a wide hole in the ferry’s hull, on the starboard side. They find a hole that has not been documented before and now Sweden, Finland and Estonia want to evaluate the new discovery. “Considering that the hole is below the water line and considering no one has ever mentioned that another ship could have sunk Estonia and none of the survivors have said they saw a ship close to Estonia, the most likely cause is (the ferry) collided with a … The makers of the five-part documentary series, which was released for streaming on Monday, claimed to have found a hitherto unrecorded four-metre hole in the hull of the MS Estonia. Resisting calls to raise the wreck and bury the dead, the Swedish government initially proposed covering the whole vessel, lying in about 80 metres of water, in a concrete shell, but eventually backed down in the face of a public outcry. .css-1hlxxic-PromoLink:link{color:inherit;}.css-1hlxxic-PromoLink:visited{color:#696969;}.css-1hlxxic-PromoLink:link,.css-1hlxxic-PromoLink:visited{-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;}.css-1hlxxic-PromoLink:link:hover,.css-1hlxxic-PromoLink:visited:hover,.css-1hlxxic-PromoLink:link:focus,.css-1hlxxic-PromoLink:visited:focus{color:#B80000;-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;}.css-1hlxxic-PromoLink:link::after,.css-1hlxxic-PromoLink:visited::after{content:'';position:absolute;top:0;right:0;bottom:0;left:0;z-index:2;}Estonia ferry disaster: French court rejects compensation claim, Women first rule 'ignored in ship disasters' - study, Biden: Black Lives protesters treated very differently. A television documentary aired to coincide with the 26th anniversary of the sinking of the M/S Estonia includes video images from the wreck site showing a hole … But the Estonia was In September 1994, the passenger ferry Estonia set out on an overnight cruise from Tallinn, Estonia to Stockholm, Sweden and sank in the Baltic Sea, killing nearly 1000 people in 35 minutes. People from 17 countries lost their lives in the disaster. A new documentary that premieres on a Swedish TV channel shows that the wreck of the sunken cruise ferry, MS Estonia, has a large hole in the hull; the finding is serious enough for the Estonian government to announce a new “technical investigation” into the disaster. Video, How a Trump rally turned deadly at the Capitol, Streets of Beijing back to life after Covid. The ferry quickly listed to starboard and sank into the frigid Baltic Sea in less than 45 minutes under circumstances which can only be described as mysterious. “We scanned the port side, from bow to stern, just the outside. The passenger ferry MS Estonia in the docks in Tallinn. “But we decided the only responsible course of action was go and look. Capitol riots: A visual guide to the storming of Congress, Covid: WHO urges tougher measures to curb 'alarming' variant, Two more life-saving Covid drugs discovered. “But the surviving witnesses – whose testimony really didn’t feature in the report – were clear that it all started with that bang,” Evertsson said. A controversial government investigation blamed the ship's design and high waves. VideoStreets of Beijing back to life after Covid, 'New York is not dead, but it is on life support', Rapper Pa Salieu wins the BBC's Sound of 2021, Six tips for success from the richest person on the planet, BBC Culture: Why being creative is good for you. Survivors later described torrents of seawater pouring through cabin windows, ceilings and doors. For 20 years, he said, “we have been demanding another investigation, citing experts who say the ship could not have sunk that fast unless it was holed below the waterline. 2020 - Video from the new MS "Estonia" documentary. 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