In the evening of September 27, 1994 The Estonia, one of the largest passenger/car ferries in the world, sets sail from the Estonian capital of Tallinn. She is bound for Stockholm in Sweden but she will never arrive.
The Baltic Sea claimed 852 people's lives by drowning and freezing them to death in the 8 degree C cold water. Only 95 bodies were ever recovered.
The wreck of the Estonia was not salvaged, but sealed, covered in sand and declared an official burial ground. The 150 metre long Estonia left the Estonian capital Tallin and sailed into a raging Baltic Sea. Unlike the other car ferries on the route, the Estonia ran at full speed into waves more than 15 meters tall. Six hours into the voyage, she sank to a depth of more than 75 metres.
The first sign of danger was the sound of metal scraping against metal. The sound was caused by the weakly constructed locks on the bow visor breaking under the strain of the waves. The visor eventually broke off of the ship, uncovering the opening to the car deck behind. Water rushed in and destabilised the ship, starting a catastrophic chain of events that brought the ship down.
Without warning, the vessel lurched some 20 degrees to starboard, and would continue to tilt to 90 degrees. Passengers were in danger of getting crushed under falling equipment. At such an angle, it was all but impossible to move around.
Those who were going to survive had already reached the deck. Tragically, by then most of the lifeboats could not be released due to sideways tilt of the ship. Soon, the ferry slipped beneath the waves into a watery grave.The Estonia disaster occurred on Wednesday, 28 September 1994, between about 00:55 to 01:50.