How many people drowned on the Herald of Free Enterprise?
The MS Herald of Free Enterprise was a Roll-On Roll-Off (RORO) ferry which capsized moments after leaving the Belgian port of Zeebrugge on the night of March 6, 1987, killing 193 passengers and crew.
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The judge, Sir Michael Turner, told the jury that there was not enough evidence to convict the ship's owners, P & O European Ferries Ltd., or five of seven individuals who were being tried, including the ship's captain, David Lewry.
A public court of inquiry into the disaster placed the blame on three of the ferry's staff: assistant boatswain Mark Stanley, who failed to close the bow doors after falling asleep in his cabin during a short break; first officer Leslie Sabel, who failed to ensure the bow doors were closed; and captain David Lewry for ...
Miles and other passengers who survived the disaster 35 years ago now feature in a Channel 5 documentary Why Ships Sink: The Herald of Free Enterprise, which will air tonight. Devastatingly, 31-year-old Martin's body has never been found and was assumed to still be on board, leaving Miles with little closure.
Mark Stanley, the assistant bosun on the day of the tragedy, died in hospital on July 20, aged 58. He had not closed the bow doors when the ship set sail and he had been haunted by the tragedy, which was said to have severely affected his health, working life and family. Mr Stanley had fallen asleep in his cabin.
A combination of procedural errors and oversights and the design of the ferry itself caused the vehicle deck to flood, after the ferry set sail with the bow doors open.
Carly Zutic, from Dumfries, Scotland passed away suddenly at her home after a long battle with drug addiction, the Daily Record reported. Carly was just nine weeks old when she survived the sinking of the Herald of Free Enterprise in March 1987.
But only three of them made it back. Their day of fun turned into a day of horror within 90 seconds as the ship capsized, killing 193 people, including Miles' best friend Martin Spooner.
The direct cause of the disaster was human error: the assistant bosun, responsible for closing the bow doors of this roll-on/roll-off ferry, had fallen asleep in his cabin and slept through the alarm telling crew that the ship was sailing.
MS Free Enterprise (I) was a cross-Channel ferry operated by Townsend Brothers and later Townsend Thoresen between 1962 and 1980. She was their first purpose built roll-on/roll-off passenger and vehicle ferry. She was sold to Greece in 1980, where she served until being sold for scrap in 2013.