How many people died on the ferry estonia. What mystery is more mysterious. What was the ferry

15 years ago, on the night of September 27-28, 1994 in Gulf of Finland the Estonian ferry wrecked. The ship sank near the island of Utoye, located 20 km from the coast of Finland, with 989 people on board.

The ferry "Estonia" was built in Germany at the Meyer Werft shipyard in 1980. It had cabins for 2,000 passengers and space for 460 vehicles.

In 2005, the Swedish government published an investigation report. According to him, on the day of the disaster, the ship was not transporting explosives or military equipment. Design flaws were announced as the official version of the ferry crash.

In 2006, a special commission of the Estonian Parliament, created to continue the investigation into the circumstances of the export from the territory of Estonia military equipment on the ferry "Estonia" in 1994, published its final report. However, under the report of the commission, created from representatives of all six fractions of the Estonian parliament, only five people put their signatures.

Representative of the faction of the Center Party Evelyn Sepp(Evelyn Sepp) issued a dissenting opinion in which she accused one member of the commission - Trivimi Velliste (Isamaa/Res Publica union) of knowing about the transport of military equipment on this ferry. It was these transportations, according to Sepp, that caused the largest maritime disaster post-war period.

In 2009, the Estonian government decided to stop investigating the reasons for the sinking of the ferry "Estonia".

The Cabinet of Ministers heard the fourth report of the government commission investigating the circumstances of the disaster, and concluded that the information available could not provide additional information about its causes. As a result, the commission was disbanded. In the submitted report, its design flaws and severe weather. This is in line with the conclusions of the international commission published in 1997. According to the official version, the ferry sank due to a defect in the bow gate, which could not withstand the storm and began to let water through.

The collapse of the ferry "Estonia" was the largest disaster on the water after the Second World War in Europe.

There are memorials dedicated to the memory of the victims of the Estonia ferry disaster in Tallinn and Stockholm.

The ferry was originally built for Viking Line and was named Viking Sally. It was supposed to run between Turku, Mariehamn and Stockholm. In 1986, it was sold to Silja Line and renamed Silja Star, leaving it on the same route. In 1991, the ferry was operated by Wasa Line, wholly owned by Silja Line, and the ferry, now under the name Wasa King, began to run between the Finnish city of Vaasa and Swedish city Umeo. In January 1993, to ensure ferry service between Tallinn and Stockholm, the Swedish company Nordström & Thulin and the Estonian state-owned Estonian Shipping Company (Estonian Shipping Company, abbreviated as ESCO) have established a joint venture called Estline (EstLine A/S), which acquired the Wasa King ferry, renaming it "Estonia" ("Estonia").

"Estonia" left the port of Tallinn on the evening of 27.09. A storm was raging in the sea, the wind was 20 meters per second. At midnight, the Estonia missed the Viking Line ferry Mariella at sea, on which the speed of the Estonia was considered too high. Half past one in the night from the ship was sent short message for help, the ship soon disappeared from Mariella's radar. The sender of the message is believed to be the second or fourth navigator. It is clear from the message that the list of the ship at that moment is very dangerous - 20-30 degrees, and it is heard that the fog siren is turned on on the ship to wake up the passengers. The ferry sank between 00:55 and 01:50 (UTC+02). Modern navigation charts indicate the place of the ferry wreck 59.381783, 21.67668359°22? With. sh. 21°40? V. d.? / ?59.381783° N sh. 21.676683° E (G) (O) (depth 83 m).

The ferries of the Helsinki-Stockholm message, located in the nearest waters, hurried to the rescue: Silya Symphony, Silya Europe, Isabella, Mariella, and the German passenger Finnjet. There was also an Estonian nearby cargo Ship but he continued on his way south. Later, the Finnish patrol boats "Tursas" and "Valpas" and the minesweeper "Uusimaa" with their divers arrived at the scene. There was such a strong storm at the crash site that the ferries that arrived first could not save everyone who was in the water. Survivors were forced to be collected from the surface by Coast Guard divers and air force Finland and Sweden, helicopters of the Helsinki Rescue Team, and helicopters of private individuals only in the morning.

ships in place, for the most part on the Mariella, only 38 people were rescued. Finnish helicopters, mainly a Coast Guard Super Puma, rescued 49 people. Swedish helicopters - 50. In total, 13 Swedish, 12 Finnish, two Danish and one Russian helicopter. From the tilted "Estonia" did not have time to lower the many available lifeboats, but there were many self-inflating rubber rafts on the waves. The problem was that strong wind quickly carried life rafts from the crash site, where passengers were swimming in nightgowns. Of the 989 on board (803 passengers and 186 crew members), 137 people (94 passengers and 43 crew members) were rescued. At the same time, 757 people (651 passengers and 106 crew members) went missing, and 95 dead (58 passengers and 37 crew members) were identified. Among the dead was the popular Estonian singer Urmas Alender. 859 dead (including those missing) were citizens of 17 states.

In November 1994, the nose visor of the Estonia was raised by a remote-controlled robot for research. In early December, the Norwegian company Rockwater, specializing in underwater work, explored the sunken ship at the expense of the Swedish state. In these actions, the ferry "Semi 1" was used as the base vessel, from which the dives were carried out using an underwater bell and a special gas mixture. The main task of the divers was to find the on-board computer and deliver it to the commission of inquiry. The computer was not found, presumably it was torn out and washed away by a storm from the window and it was lost somewhere in the bottom silt. This gave additional food to the yellow press, for example, there were versions in the press that the ferry could go to the bottom due to a specially organized explosion on board, and that someone tried to smuggle cargo on it or it could be an explosion of Soviet military equipment .

The possibility of lifting the vessel was rejected later in December, and it was decided to leave it in place, sealed with concrete. Diving to the remains of the ship is prohibited, the execution of the ban is entrusted to the Finnish authorities. The ship lies on its side 35 kilometers south-southeast of the Finnish island of Ut? outside Finnish territorial waters at a depth of about 60 meters. According to the official conclusion of the Estonian-Finnish-Swedish commission, the reason for the death of the ferry was the flaws in the design of Ro-Ro ships (also called "ro-ro"). On February 19, 2009, the Estonian government dismissed the commission investigating the causes of the tragedy after its fourth report. As the most likely cause of the death of the ferry, its design flaws (separation of the bow visor) and severe weather conditions were named.

On the night of September 27-28, 1994, a tragedy occurred in the Baltic Sea, which was destined to become the last maritime mystery of the outgoing millennium. A mystery that remains unsolved to this day.

On September 27, 1994 at 19:15 local time, the ferry "Estonia" left the port of Tallinn, carrying 989 passengers and crew members. The ferry made by that time the already familiar flight from Tallinn to Stockholm.

Despite the fact that the weather was bad and a storm began at sea, neither those who remained on the shore nor those who sailed on board the ferry felt any anxiety. For a vessel like the Estonia, the Baltic storm, as it was believed, could not pose any threat.

At 1:30 a.m., the Estonia transmitted a brief distress signal, shortly after which it disappeared from radar.

Morning releases of Estonian TV channels plunged the country into shock: the ferry "Estonia" died, there are numerous victims.

As eyewitnesses recall, that morning, bewildered, depressed Tallinners went to the port, to the pier from which the Estonia left on its last voyage. They stood and looked at the sea, as if hoping that the Baltic would return the ship and people ...

Regular flight

The ferry "Estonia" was built in 1979 at the West German shipyard Meyer Werft in the city of Papenburg by order of the Finnish company Viking Line. The ship, named Viking Sally, cruised on the Turku - Mariehamn - Stockholm line. The ship went through several owners and Baltic routes until, in January 1993, it was acquired by the Swedish-Estonian joint venture Estline for a ferry service between Tallinn and Stockholm. After that, the ferry received its last name - "Estonia".

No serious accidents were recorded during the flights of "Estonia" until September 27, 1994.

And this time, by 23:00, the ferry safely passed 350 km of the route. The storm intensified, the ship rocked, but the situation did not cause any concern. The passengers went to bed peacefully.

Around midnight, Estonia met with the ferry Mariella, owned by Viking Line, which was heading on a collision course. On the Maerilla, they noticed that the Estonia was moving at high speed, but this circumstance in itself did not pose a threat to the ship.

Nightmare

All the more unexpected was the distress signal received from the Estonia just an hour and a half later. It followed from it that the ship had a dangerous roll, and the crew was waking up the passengers with a siren.

Not only "Mariella" immediately went to the place of disaster, but also several other ferries from Helsinki to Stockholm.

The sailors saw a terrible picture: on rafts in the cold, raging sea, half-dressed, terrified to death, frozen people could hardly be kept. Passenger ferries are not the best vessels for rescue work, especially in stormy conditions, so it was not possible to raise everyone who was on the surface from the water.

At about three o'clock in the morning, helicopters of the Finnish and Swedish military and rescuers arrived at the place of death of the "Estonia", which began to pull out of the water those who could not be helped by ferries.

For some, help came too late - even people pulled out of the water died of hypothermia aboard ships and helicopters.

A total of 137 people were rescued, 95 more were officially identified as dead. 757 people were declared missing.

It's all about the visor

The sinking of the ferry "Estonia" was the largest shipwreck in Europe that occurred in peacetime.

What caused the tragedy?

The official commission of inquiry, composed of experts from Finland, Sweden and Estonia, came to the conclusion that "Estonia" was ruined by the bow visor - the surface part of the ferry, which rises to take cars and other cargo on board.

According to the members of the commission, on the "Estonia", built in 1979, the technical requirements for the safety and reliability of the nasal visor did not meet more modern requirements.

In the conditions of a strong storm and at the high speed of the "Estonia", her visor could not withstand the blows of oncoming waves, which led to its failure. After that, storm waves began to overwhelm cargo compartment. Within minutes, this caused an increasing list to starboard.

When the team realized the danger of what was happening and gave a distress signal, it was already too late - the ship lay down on the starboard side, and a few minutes later went to the bottom. "Estonia" died in just half an hour.

When it became known about the conclusions of the commission, bow visors were tightly welded on all ferries of an identical design in order to avoid a repetition of the disaster.

The German shipbuilders, who, in fact, were blamed for the disaster, did not agree with the conclusions. After conducting their own investigation, they stated that the Estonian nose visor was designed for much more serious loads, and its failure could only be the result of a deliberate explosion.

No evidence of an explosion aboard the Estonia, however, was presented.

The crew was involved in drug smuggling?

If the German shipbuilders, speaking of a possible explosion, do not name those who could stand behind it, then others alternative versions much more detailed.

All of them are connected in one way or another with a certain cargo that was transported by "Estonia".

Some researchers claim that just before the ferry was sent on its last flight, two trucks drove on board without customs inspection. What kind of cargo was in them remains unknown.

According to one of the most popular versions, "Estonia" was used for drug smuggling. Allegedly in his last flight the ferry was carrying another batch, but the crew became aware that the police were already waiting for them in Stockholm. Then the team members involved in smuggling decided to open the nose visor and throw the cargo into the sea. Having fulfilled their plan, however, they failed to close the visor, as a result of which the ship filled with water, lay on its side and sank.

Marine experts, however, do not believe in such a possibility. Such a step in a storm was tantamount to suicide, and the captain could not help but understand this. In any case, a Swedish prison is better than the inhospitable bottom of the Baltic.

A few more versions boil down to the fact that weapons that previously belonged to the Soviet Union were transported on board the Estonia.

This possibility was indirectly confirmed by one of the heads of the Swedish customs authorities. Sven Peter Olsson, who later admitted that in 1994 the customs did indeed have an agreement with the Swedish army, according to which, in the port of Stockholm, cars with a load of electronics purchased from Russian army and delivered from Tallinn to passenger ferry"Estonia".

True, in 2005, the Swedish government published a report of the commission of inquiry, which stated that there was no military cargo on the "Estonia" on the day of the disaster.

Supporters of the version about weapons on board the "Estonia" are divided into several groups. The former believe that some kind of secret Soviet weapon was exported on the "Estonia", the leakage of which to the West could not be allowed by the Russian special services, which staged a diversion on board. The latter are sure that the sabotage on board the Estonia is the work of the Western intelligence services, who were under the threat of exposing their weapons operations. former USSR and decided in literally the words "hide the ends in the water."

Why didn't they raise the sunken ferry?

Adherents of the most radical version of the death of "Estonia" are convinced that radioactive materials, possibly even components of nuclear weapons, were transported on board.

And, oddly enough, this version has indirect confirmation. The fact is that the lost ship, by international agreement, was sealed at the bottom with a concrete sarcophagus, and the waters around it are a restricted area controlled by the Finnish Navy.

Those who do not agree with official version the death of "Estonia", pay attention to the fact that the authorities categorically refused to attempt to raise the ferry, despite the fact that it lies not at the most prohibitive depth - 83 meters.

However, in 1995 there was an Estonian-Finnish-Swedish agreement prohibiting any work in the area of the death of the ferry "Estonia". Russia, Denmark, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Great Britain have also joined this agreement.

Officially, this is done out of respect for the memory of the dead. Opponents say that there is an international conspiracy of silence around Estonia, the purpose of which is to hide the true causes of the tragedy.

Case closed, questions remain

There are indeed more than enough oddities in the case of the death of the ferry "Estonia". So, the lists of found and rescued passengers and crew members were corrected, and people who seemed to have already been found and rescued disappeared again. For example, the second captain of the ship, Avo Pikht, first appeared and then disappeared from the list of survivors. Everything would be fine, there are few mistakes in such an environment, but the fact is that there is a video recording made during the delivery of the rescued to the port. On it, in an ambulance, TV journalists captured a man very similar to Captain Fir. Where did he disappear to then? And such seemingly surviving, and then missing members of the Estonian crew were counted by several people.

In early 2009, the Estonian government dismissed the commission investigating the causes of the disaster after the publication of its fourth report. The conclusions of this report were no different from those made earlier - the most likely cause of the death of the ferry is its design flaws and severe weather conditions.

With this, the official investigation into the disaster was finally closed.

And the answers to all the questions of the doubters, obviously, will never be received.

Black day in Tallinn

At 1:30 a.m., the Estonia transmitted a brief distress signal, shortly after which it disappeared from radar.

Morning releases of Estonian TV channels plunged the country into shock: the ferry "Estonia" died, there are numerous victims.

The sinking of the ferry "Estonia" was the largest shipwreck in Europe in peacetime

Ordinary flight

The ferry "Estonia" was built in 1979 at the West German shipyard Meyer Werft in the city of Papenburg by order of the Finnish company Viking Line. The vessel, which received the name Viking Sally, cruised on the Turku - Mariehamn - Stockholm line. The ship went through several owners and Baltic routes until, in January 1993, it was acquired by the Swedish-Estonian joint venture Estline for a ferry service between Tallinn and Stockholm. After that, the ferry received its last name - "Estonia".

No serious accidents were recorded during the flights of "Estonia" until September 27, 1994.

And this time, by 23:00, the ferry safely passed 350 km of the route. The storm intensified, the ship rocked, but the situation did not cause any concern. The passengers went to bed peacefully.

The death of the ferry "Estonia". Artist Sergey Lim

Night nightmare

Not only "Mariella" immediately went to the place of the disaster, but also several other ferries from Helsinki to Stockholm.

For some, help came too late - even people pulled out of the water died of hypothermia aboard ships and helicopters.

A total of 137 people were rescued, 95 more were officially identified as dead. 757 people were declared missing.

Of the 989 passengers and crew on the ferry, 137 were rescued, 95 were identified as dead, and 757 were reported missing.

All case in visor

The sinking of the ferry "Estonia" was the largest shipwreck in Europe that occurred in peacetime.

What caused the tragedy?

According to the members of the commission, on the "Estonia", built in 1979, the technical requirements for the safety and reliability of the nasal visor did not meet more modern requirements.

In the conditions of a strong storm and at the high speed of the "Estonia", her visor could not withstand the blows of oncoming waves, which led to its failure. After that, storm waves began to overwhelm the cargo hold. Within minutes, this caused an increasing list to starboard.

When it became known about the conclusions of the commission, bow visors were tightly welded on all ferries of an identical design in order to avoid a repetition of the disaster.

No evidence of an explosion aboard the Estonia, however, was presented.

According to the official version, the reason for the death of the ferry "Estonia" was the separation of the bow visor - the surface part of the ferry, which rises to receive cars and other cargo on board

E The crew was involved in drug smuggling ?

If the German shipbuilders, speaking of a possible explosion, do not name those who could be behind it, then other alternative versions are much more detailed.

All of them are connected in one way or another with a certain cargo that was transported by "Estonia".

Some researchers claim that just before the ferry was sent on its last flight, two trucks drove on board without customs inspection. What kind of cargo was in them remains unknown.

According to one of the most popular versions, "Estonia" was used for drug smuggling. Allegedly, the ferry was carrying another batch on its last voyage, but the crew became aware that the police were already waiting for them in Stockholm. Then the team members involved in smuggling decided to open the nose visor and throw the cargo into the sea. Having fulfilled their plan, however, they failed to close the visor, as a result of which the ship filled with water, lay on its side and sank.

A few more versions boil down to the fact that weapons that previously belonged to the Soviet Union were transported on board the Estonia.

This possibility was indirectly confirmed by one of the heads of the Swedish customs authorities. Sven Peter Olsson, who later admitted that in 1994 the customs did indeed have an agreement with the Swedish army, according to which cars with a load of electronics purchased from the Russian army and delivered from Tallinn on the passenger ferry "Estonia" were not checked in the port of Stockholm.

True, in 2005, the Swedish government published a report of the commission of inquiry, which stated that there was no military cargo on the "Estonia" on the day of the disaster.

Supporters of the version about weapons on board the "Estonia" are divided into several groups. The former believe that some kind of secret Soviet weapon was exported on the "Estonia", the leakage of which to the West could not be allowed by the Russian special services, which staged a diversion on board. The latter are sure that the sabotage on board the Estonia is the work of the Western intelligence services, who were under the threat of exposing their operations with the weapons of the former USSR and who decided to literally "hide the ends in the water."

The place of death of "Estonia", located in the Baltic Sea at a depth of 83 meters, is closed with a concrete sarcophagus and declared a closed zone

Why didn't they raise the sunken ferry?

Adherents of the most radical version of the death of "Estonia" are convinced that radioactive materials, possibly even components of nuclear weapons, were transported on board.

Those who do not agree with the official version of the death of "Estonia" pay attention to the fact that the authorities categorically refused to try to raise the ferry, despite the fact that it lies not at the most prohibitive depth - 83 meters.

Officially, this is done out of respect for the memory of the dead. Opponents say that there is an international conspiracy of silence around "Estonia", the purpose of which is to hide the true causes of the tragedy.

Memorial to those who died on the ferry "Estonia" in Stockholm

Case closed, questions remain

With this, the official investigation into the disaster was finally closed.

And the answers to all the questions of the doubters, obviously, will never be received.

Image copyright getty Image caption The nose hatch-visor of the "Estonia" was found at the bottom far behind the crash site, lifted and carefully examined

The morning of Wednesday, September 28, 1994, was cool in Tallinn, but cheerfully sunny, and the first news on the radio about some accident with a ferry on the Baltic Sea, to many, probably at first seemed not very important. Well, crash. Well, rescue operation. But will they save? What will happen to her, this colossus?

And then there was shock. Pretty soon, within the next few hours, the picture began to clear up. To everyone who followed the operation "from the shore" - relatives, friends, officials, journalists - it became completely clear how terrible the result of this simple arithmetic operation: how many were on board, minus how many managed to escape.

Precise, to the end complete list in the early days, the shipowner did not have everyone who was on the Estonia - there was just a little confusion with those who bought a ticket, but either swam or not, or, for example, with some members of the crew: on the shift they were or not. After a while, everyone was counted.

There were 989 people on board. Only 137 were saved. 852 people died. Almost a hundred of them managed to get on the life rafts, but died of hypothermia while the rescuers got there. The remaining seven and a half hundred people drowned along with the ferry.

It was biggest disaster peacetime in the Baltic Sea. Sweden lost 501 people, Estonia - 285 people. People from Latvia, Finland, Russia and other countries died.

The trouble of the whole country

Estonia - absolutely small country, and the death of almost 300 people at once became a big disaster for her. Later, after some time, sociologists found out that about half of the inhabitants of Estonia someone died: if not a relative or friend, then at least an acquaintance. Whole families died. Especially - families: whoever was on the ferry with a child and tried to save the child died with him.

An entire delegation from the town of Võru, headed by the mayor, perished. The most famous rock musician, one of the leaders of the Ruya group, Urmas Alender, died.

There was a legend about Alender in the early days that until the very last moment he calmly, stoically, sat in a restaurant and played the guitar. Beautiful, but nonsense, of course: how could one sit and strum a guitar in a ship that had sharply tilted, de-energized and sunk in half an hour?

At the fortress tower "Fat Margaret" in Tallinn, on the slope of the bastion, which looks to the side passenger port, in the very first days after the tragedy, a memorial spontaneously arose. Flowers and candles. Lots of candles. Large wooden white cross.

Then a large "real" monument was made at this place - a very allegorical composition, called "Interrupted Line". Pompous, incomprehensible and meaningless, especially in comparison with the poignant, piercing simplicity of the white cross and candles around.

Image copyright AFP Getty Images Image caption Further anniversaries will be remembered by the relatives of the victims on an individual basis.

torn visor

According to the results of an official investigation, the cause of the Estonia catastrophe was the not-so-good condition of the 24-year-old ship, combined with a storm and high speed.

One of the huge hinges, on which the forward visor (visor hatch) of the ferry was held, cracked, waves up to six meters high finished it off and tore off the visor, after which the car deck was flooded with water, and the ship overturned the "free surface" effect.

To illustrate this effect, it is enough to pour a few liters into a wide basin and take it in your hands. Slight slope - and big free surface immediately creates a powerful pressure in the direction of the roll. "Estonia" lay on its side and sank within 25 minutes or half an hour.

The people who were in the cabins on the lower decks had little chance: in the ship lying on its side, the transverse corridors with halls turned into failures 24 meters deep.

As always in cases big catastrophes, there were also conspiracy theories. In Russia, for example, the thrown-in so-called. the Felix group - the now deceased political figure and political strategist Anton Surikov was associated with it - a version that drugs and cobalt were transported on the "Estonia".

The fact that this “hypothesis” was composed with goals clearly different from the search for truth was indicated, in particular, by the fact that the authors transparently and recognizably described members of the Estonian political leadership as leaders of the smugglers, including Alexander Einseln, commander of the Defense Forces, especially disliked by Moscow. and Prime Minister Mart Laar.

Quirks of conspiracy theories

But the most eloquent in the version of the "Felix group" was the main detail: according to this hypothesis, the ferry team, on orders from the shore, in order to cover their tracks, opened the visor and tried to dump trucks with cobalt into the sea, which led to the crash.

A lot of time has passed, the death of "Estonia" has become history. It's time to come to terms with this grief, end the mourning and find peace of mind Märt Raudsepp, board member of Memento Mare

Blaming the sailors for opening a huge bow visor in a storm at full speed for whatever purpose is like blaming the cause of the crash on the fact that the captain of the liner at an altitude of 10 kilometers opened the door to smoke.

But many Russian journalists, including those from quality publications, for some reason considered the hypothesis of the Felix group quite seriously.

A group of German journalists developed a version that an explosion or a series of explosions on board caused the death of the Estonia, and even organized a dive to the ship lying at a depth of 60-80 meters.

Supporters of conspiracy theories added enthusiasm to the story of the second captain of "Estonia" Avo Pikht (he was allegedly seen among the rescued, and then he disappeared), as well as the decision of the governments of Estonia, Sweden and Finland to close access to the place of death of the ferry as the resting place of the dead.

There was a version that the "Estonia" was drowned, because some secret weapon stolen in Russia was transported on it. In the course of later investigations, vague information appeared that the Estonia could indeed be carrying some kind of weapon or military equipment purchased by Western intelligence from the Russian military - but even if this was the case, it is not at all obvious that the death of the ferry somehow associated with this smuggling.

The Estonian society of relatives of those who died on the "Estonia" - Memento Mare - announced back in the summer that it would arrange the last big commemoration ceremony on the 20th anniversary of the disaster - with mourning concerts, a memorial service and laying wreaths at the memorial near "Fat Margaret". Each of the following anniversaries will be celebrated individually.

"A lot of time has passed, the death of Estonia has become history," Memento Mare board member Märt Raudsepp told reporters. "It's time to come to terms with this grief, remove the mourning and find peace of mind."