Sweden orders review of new findings on M/S Estonia ferry sinking
"This is a serious matter regarding a catastrophic event, and we have to be prepared to see if new facts emerge," Prime Minister Stefan Lofven said.
Sweden is reviewing new information released about the 1994 sinking of a Baltic Sea passenger ferry that claimed 852 lives, Prime Minister Stefan Lofven said on Wednesday.
A documentary released earlier this week showed new underwater footage of the M/S Estonia wreck, with images of a large, previously unknown hole in the wreck.
"This is a serious matter regarding a catastrophic event, and we have to be prepared to see if new facts emerge," Lofven told reporters.
A 1997 inquiry established that the ferry sank after its bow door was ripped off in a storm while en route from Tallinn, Estonia, to Stockholm. Of the 989 people aboard, only 137 survived the ordeal on 28 September 1994.
Survivors and groups representing next of kin have called for an investigation into the hole, which reportedly measures 1 by 4 metres and is located on the vessel's starboard side below the waterline.
In talks with Estonia and Finland
The Swedish Accident Investigation Authority said it has not received formal investigation instructions but was in talks with its counterparts in Estonia and Finland and reviewing the footage, according to a Swedish Radio report.
The foreign ministers of Finland, Estonia and Sweden stated earlier they would conduct a possible investigation together, under the leadership of Estonia, the ship's flag state.
The matters are complicated by the fact that the wreck was declared a grave site, and diving there is banned under a 1995 international agreement.
Two documentary film crew members are to stand trial in Sweden in January over filming the wreck with a remotely operated vehicle (ROV).