The Estonia ferry disaster

Witness History

In 1994, the MS Estonia ferry sank in the Baltic Sea with the loss of 852 lives. It was one of the deadliest shipping tragedies since the sinking of the Titanic.

The Estline ferry was sailing overnight from Estonia to Sweden, in bad weather and heavy seas, when it sent a distress signal saying it was listing heavily.

Survivors later reported the boat sank within five minutes, and many passengers did not have time to escape. An official inquiry found that the ship's bow door locks had failed allowing water to gush in.

Urban Lambertson was one of the 137 survivors. He’s been speaking to Jane Wilkinson

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(Photo: Memorial to the victims of the Estonia ferry disaster. Credit: Jessica Gow/AFP via Getty Images)