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Who was the youngest survivor of Zeebrugge?

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.



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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 ...

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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.

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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.

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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.

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The simple answer is: they are generally very safe. In fact, ferries are normally considered one of the safest means to travel in Europe.

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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.

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Capsizing. The ship left her berth in Zeebrugge inner harbour at 18:05 (GMT) with a crew of 80 and carrying 459 passengers, 81 cars, three buses and 47 trucks. She passed the outer mole at 18:24 (GMT) and capsized about four minutes later.

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The Herald had 459 passengers, 80 crew members, 81 cars, 47 cargo trucks and three other vehicles. The weather was good. The Herald passed the outer breakwater at 1824 and, about four minutes later, capsized.

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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.

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The Herald of Free Enterprise was a roro ferry owned by the former ferry company Townsend Thoresen. She was part of the Spirit Class of ferries and had two other sister ships, the Pride of Free Enterprise and the Spirit of Free Enterprise.

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Within half an hour, the seriously damaged Gateway had turned on its side in the shallow waters and capsized. After an order was made to abandon ship, the crew and lorry drivers ended up in the water. There were 70 people on board. Two lorry drivers and four crew members died that night.

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