Ferry Cargo Door Torn Off, Probers Say
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TURKU, Finland — The 60-ton front cargo door of the sunken ferry Estonia was torn off during a storm when its locks failed, investigators said Monday after examining video pictures of the sunken ship.
More than 800 people were killed in the disaster.
The investigators’ preliminary conclusions were based on more than 15 hours of videotape taken by remote-controlled cameras of the wrecked ferry, which went down off the coast of Finland in a violent storm Wednesday.
The video showed that the huge hinged 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 Estonia sank after an estimated 1,000 tons of water flooded the ship’s car deck, said one of the investigators, Tuomo Karppinen of Finland.
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