Tallinn.
THE grim task of trying to devise the recovery of the bodies trapped
in the hull of the submerged Baltic Sea ferry Estonia was under way
yesterday, amid fears of a growing toll, with more than 900 dead.
As questions mounted over the cause, with faulty seals and shifting
cargo among the theories, a Swedish unmanned submarine was exploring the
sunken ferry. Analysis of its photographs should be completed today.
If the hull is upside down divers, breathing helium to counter the
effects of working at depths of 80 metres, would face a hard task
getting inside the vessel, making the possibility of full salvage more
remote.
The Dutch company Wijsmuller Salvage said it had been asked by the
Estonian Government to plan how to recover bodies trapped in the hull.
Company officials said an attempt to raise the vessel itself was not
yet being considered. ''The first priority is to get the bodies back,''
said company spokeswoman Eldine Habig.
Latest estimates put the number of dead at 909, with 65 bodies
recovered. The ferry was carrying 1051 passengers and crew, several
dozen more than previously reported, although there appeared to be some
confusion last night in Tallinn over exact numbers.
Estonian Home Affairs Minister, Mr Haiki Arike, a member of the
government's crisis commission set up to deal with the disaster,
addressed a news conference, and was asked to explain how the numbers
could have increased by almost 200 since those first released.
Mr Arike said many people had been travelling on tickets issued under
different names and that children under five had not at first been
included, since they were not registered as passengers in their own
right. He promised that the commission would ''investigate very
seriously'' the Estonian ferry company Estline's failure to keep an
accurate record of passengers.
Mr Arike refused to comment on reports from survivors that there had
been the sound of an explosion or collision shortly before the vessel
sank.
The Estonia was en route from Tallinn in Estonia to Stockholm when it
went down in a matter of minutes in the early hours of Wednesday.
A spokesman for another salvage company, Smit Tak, the world's
largest, said no one had ever tried to raise a ship as big as the
15,500-tonne Estonia from such a depth.
Meanwhile, the head of the company which operated the Estonia said he
did not believe a fault in the bow door or shifting cargo could have
caused the ferry to sink.
Survivors have spoken of the vessel lurching over on to its side with
sea water swilling about the car deck. Mr Johannes Johanson, managing
director of Estline, said it was impossible to say anything definite.
He added, however: ''I am sure that the bow door of the ship could not
be the cause of the accident.''
Early reports about the fate of the Estonia near the island of Uto off
south-west Finland
had focused on the ship's bow door and a possible movement of trucks
and cargo.
Of the cargo, Mr Johanson said: ''It is possible it could move but it
also could not be the cause of this kind of accident, that this big ship
could go down in five to 10 minutes.'' He said a shift in the cargo and
trucks could cause the ship to list 30-40 degrees but not turn on its
side.
However, a member of the official panel investigating the disaster
said interviews with survivors could support the theory that water
entered the bow doors, causing it to capsize.
''It is quite possible that the ship would keel over if water was
coming in the way they described,'' said Mr Kari Lehtola, from Finland.
Crewman Henrik Sillaste said he saw on TV monitors inside the engine
room water rushing into the car deck through front doors.
Another survivor spoke of loud crashing sounds, like the noise falling
trucks would make.
Maritime safety expert Mr Ake Sjoblom, of Sweden's National Maritime
Administration, said he had taken Estonian student safety inspectors
over the ship just before it set sail.
He told Estonian television he had found nothing which might have
caused the accident. There was some minor defect in the ''rubber
packing'' of the bow door but the door was undamaged.
Mr Sjoblom stressed he had no authority in Estonia. ''It was not a
survey or an inspection, it was training.'' He said the ''general
impression of the ship was very good''.
Mr Johanson suggested there could have been some sort of underwater
collision or explosion but could give no details. ''Some people are
talking about there being something under water, some kind of rocks, but
there are no rocks in that area.
''Theoretically, it could not go down at all. All the passenger
ferries are built in this way: it is practically impossible.''
Survivors have been given accounts of the scramble to get off the
sinking vessel in which the strongest lived while the weak and elderly
perished.
Mr Aundus Maidre, a 19-year-old Estonian passenger, said he had been
sleeping on the first deck of the ferry, below the car deck, when he
heard a sound like trucks falling over and he fled as the boat began to
list.
''I heard a loud crashing sound like the noise falling trucks would
have made,'' he said from his hospital bed. ''Then the whole ship
started to list.
''I ran upstairs, past the car deck, and saw water gushing in. It came
very fast. Some old people had already given up hope and were just
sitting there crying.
''I also stepped over children who were wailing and holding on to the
railing.''
Bodies were still surfacing on the wind-whipped waters and surging
seas yesterday.
The British ambassador to Estonia, Mr Brian Low, a Scot, said he
shared the deep sense of shock and horror which had pervaded the
capital.
''Tallinn is such a small town, and just about everyone knew someone
on board. I know many people who have had relatives on this ship and
they are all devastated.''
Mr Low said a message was delivered to the Estonian President from the
Queen expressing her deep sorrow at the disaster. The Prime Minister had
also made an offer of whatever assistance the British Government could
provide.
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