Latest on Missing Passengers from Sunken Cruise Ship

[birkner]

Here is the thread if you want more information than the article:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070406/ap_on_re_eu/greece_cruise_ship

ATHENS, Greece - A Greek cruise ship that struck a volcanic reef and forced the evacuation of hundreds of tourists sank on Friday, 15 hours after it began taking on water off the coast of a Mediterranean island. Navy divers searched around the sunken wreckage for a Frenchman and his daughter — the only two passengers still missing.

Passengers on Thursday climbed down rope ladders to coast guard boats below in a three-hour rescue that involved Greece's military, commercial ships and local fishermen from the island of Santorini. Those on board were mostly American, and also included groups from Canada and Spain.

Authorities said two French passengers — Jean-Christophe Allain, 45, and his 16-year-old daughter, Maud — had still not been accounted for. Tourism Minister Fanny Palli Petralia said she had spoken with the missing passenger's wife.

"The lady said her cabin filled with water when the ship struck rocks and that she narrowly escaped," Petralia said. "She was not sure whether her husband and daughter made it out because things happened so suddenly ... in a few seconds. Her other child was up on deck and was evacuated safely."

The Sea Diamond struck rocks in the sea-filled crater formed by a volcanic eruption 3,500 years ago. Tourists gathered on clifftop towns and villages to watch the rescue.

"We realized there was a serious problem ... We exited our cabin and it was tough to be able to walk out of the ship. A lot of people were very emotional over it, upset, very frightened," said Stephen Johnson, a Canadian passenger.

The ship's operator, Louis Cruise Lines, insisted the 21-year-old vessel had been well maintained.

"The vessel maintained the highest level of safety standards and was equipped with the latest navigation systems," spokesman Giorgos Stathopoulos said.

Investigators were questioning the captain and three officers about Thursday's crash into rocks, which are marked with warning lights and clearly indicated on navigation charts.

An Australian passenger, Katie Sumner, said the early stages of the rescue were chaotic.

"We heard a big shudder and then the whole boat started to tilt," Sumner said.

"All of our glasses were sliding everywhere and our warning that the ship was sinking was some of the staff running down the corridor screaming out 'life jackets' and banging on doors, so we got no time to, sort of, get ready or anything, we just left as we were."

The Merchant Marine Ministry said 1,195 passengers and 391 crew members were on board.

"Whoever is responsible for this will be held accountable in the strictest way," Petralia said. "Greece is a major tourism destination and incidents like this must not be allowed to occur. ... Authorities handled the rescue very well."

Lizbeth Mata, 15, was on the Aegean Sea cruise with her family and said some crew members left before the passengers.

She waited at Athens Airport with her parents and brother, hoping to board a flight to Paris.

"The crew members were more scared that we were," said Mata, still wrapped in a blue blanket given to her after the rescue.

"They were yelling and screaming — didn't know what to do."

The 469-foot Sea Diamond was built in 1986 and refurbished in 1999.

___

Associated Press writer John F.L. Ross and AP television staff contributed to this report

 

[mommasita]

so sad.

 

[beachblanket]

Hopefully, the missing French passengers will be found alive.

But whatever their fate, on Monday the bell below will chime once:

It is the Lutine Bel, which hangs in the Lloyds insurance exchange in London.

It has hung there for more than a century, and is traditionally rung to herald important announcements to underwriters and brokers in the room. One stroke for bad news and two for good; recognized as the symbol of an organization whose fortunes are linextricably linked to catastrophes.

The bell was carried originally on board the French frigate La Lutine which was captured by the British in 1793.

Six years later, as HMS Lutine, it sank off the Dutch coast while carrying a cargo of gold and silver bullion. The cargo, valued then at around one million pounds, was insured by Lloyd's underwriters who paid the claim in full. The bell was subsequently salvaged and sent to the Llyod's exchange, where it was hung and the tradition of it being an omen began.

Normally, it would toll today to acknowledge the loss of the Sea Diamond. However, Llyods is closed since Good Friday is a UK Bank Holiday.

 

[dreamcometrue]

that's so sad! I hope they will be found alive!

I don't know about you all, but seeing the pictures and video of this ship sinking, gave me the chills in the worst way!

ETA: reading this

some passengers complained of an insufficient supply of life vests, little guidance from crew members and being forced into a steep climb down rope-ladders to safety.

makes me mad! What the heck?? You are bing rescued...do you have to complain about climbing down a rope ladder?? What's the alternative here? People will probably sue because of it...sad but true!

 

[Deb in IA]

I saw the pictures on the ABCNews website. Incredible.


I didn't think this was supposed to happen anymore . . .

 

[birkner]

I am so glad we are all on DCL:

Captain of sunken cruise ship is charged

ATHENS, Greece - The captain of a cruise ship that sank off an Aegean Sea island, sending more than 1,500 passengers and crew onto rescue boats, was charged Saturday with causing a shipwreck through negligence.

The 469-foot Sea Diamond sank into the sea after hitting a well-marked and charted reef on Thursday, in fair weather, inside the Greek island of Santorini's sea-filled volcanic crater.

The ship's Greek captain was also charged with breaching international shipping safety regulations and polluting the environment, a Merchant Marine Ministry spokeswoman said. Another five officers were questioned, but the spokeswoman was unable to confirm a state TV report that they also had been charged. All six were set free, but will provide new testimony next week.

The ship had been minutes away from docking under the spectacular cliffs that make Santorini one of Greece's top tourist destinations. It was carrying 1,154 tourists, most from the U.S., and 391 hundred crew members. Dozens of American high school students were among the passengers.

The stricken vessel was evacuated in a three-hour operation, but Jean-Christophe Allain, 45, and his 16-year-old daughter, Maud, from Doue-la-Fontaine in western France were listed as missing, feared to have been trapped in their flooded lower-deck cabin.

A three-day search has found no trace of them; officials said a robot submarine would investigate the hulk — lying more than 330 feet under the water's surface — next week.

The evacuation revived memories of the September 2000 Express Samina ferry shipwreck off the holiday island of Paros, which killed 80 people.

Yiannis Evangelou, the head of Greece's association of travel and tourist agencies, said the Sea Diamond's rescue operation, which he watched from a nearby ferry, was "exemplary."

But some passengers complained of an insufficient supply of life vests and life boats, little guidance from crew members and being forced into a steep climb down rope-ladders to safety.

Claire Chevrier said she and her friends clung to the deck railing as the ship started sinking.

"It was the most horrifying experience in the world. There weren't enough life boats," said Chevrier, an 18-year-old from Boca Raton, Fla., to returned home on Saturday. "We had to walk a plank from the ship to a ferry boat."

Passengers said water quickly filled the bottom floors and spilled from the pools. Several people had broken arms, and many passengers didn't even have time to put on shoes after crew members started banging on doors yelling for people to put on their life jackets, Chevrier said.

Mindy Hochfelsen said her 18-year-old daughter, Amanda, is diabetic and lost her insulin and syringes. She said the cruise line and the government were not very helpful with people who had health needs.

"It was absolutely a disaster," Hochfelsen said.

A spokesman for the ship's Cyprus-based operator, Louis Cruise Lines, said the company was working closely with Greek investigators.

"We would like to express our deep sorrow over the accident, and our thoughts are with the two missing people and their family," said Giorgos Stathopoulos. "The Sea Diamond was fully up to date with its inspections."

The 21-year-old Sea Diamond sank at the end of a four-day cruise, which included visits to the islands of Mykonos, Rhodes, Patios and Crete, and to the Turkish resort of Kusadasi.

Tourism officials hastened to play down the potential impact on Greece's vital tourism industry — which accounts for an estimated 18 percent of the country's Gross Domestic Product.

"Whoever is responsible for this will be held accountable in the strictest way," Tourism Minister Fanny Palli Petralia said. "Greece is a major tourism destination, and incidents like this must not be allowed to occur. ... Authorities handled the rescue very well."

Evangelou said the shipwreck — at the start of a promising tourist season — could put off prospective cruise-goers. "But ... an error by one human being cannot be seen as typical of safety and accident prevention measures in the country."

Greek newspapers were critical Saturday in their reporting of the accident.

Associated Press writer Kelli Kennedy contributed to this report from Miami.

 

[scottishwee35]

so sad

I would like to know one question: How they know two missing?

Scottishwee35

 

[robsmom]

so sad

I would like to know one question: How they know two missing?

Scottishwee35

It was a family together. One child was on deck and the mother, father, and daughter were in the cabin. mom says cabin started filling with water and she got out. afterwards she has not found her husband or child. it is 2 days later and all others are accounted for.

 

[birkner]

It was a family together. One child was on deck and the mother, father, and daughter were in the cabin. mom says cabin started filling with water and she got out. afterwards she has not found her husband or child. it is 2 days later and all others are accounted for.

Information about the missing passengers, Frenchman Jean-Christophe Allain, 45, and his 16-year-old daughter, Maud, from this website:

http://wcbstv.com/national/topstories_story_096093134.html

Tourism Minister Fanny Palli Petralia said she had spoken with the missing passenger's wife.

"The lady said her cabin filled with water when the ship struck rocks and that she narrowly escaped," Petralia said. "She was not sure whether her husband and daughter made it out because things happened so suddenly ... in a few seconds. Her other child was up on deck and was evacuated safely

 

[scottishwee35]

Ah, I got it now

Many thank for your information.

Scottishwee35

 

[beachblanket]

Doesn't look good: the Greek Government has sent divers down to the wreck to search for the bodies of the two missing French passengers.

 

[smores]

i read a report that said divers went down and broke thru the port hole in their room (so, room was above water line) entered room in seach for the missing passengers--no luck. if the cabin door was closed--would they be able to open it to get into the hallway--or would they need special equipment to open the door? i just can't imagine what the family must be going thru. . .

 

[beachblanket]

i read a report that said divers went down and broke thru the port hole in their room (so, room was above water line) entered room in seach for the missing passengers--no luck. if the cabin door was closed--would they be able to open it to get into the hallway--or would they need special equipment to open the door? i just can't imagine what the family must be going thru. . .

I haven't seen any report that specifically says the divers located and went into the Allain's cabin, and whether it was even an exterior one. Just locating their specific stateroom would not be easy - as a certified, experienced diver, I can tell you that finding a single cabin in the pitch blackness of a 400+ foor long wreck would not only be difficult, but also dangerous because it is very easy to get dislocated (a large percentage of diving deaths are the result of getting lost and trapped inside shipwrecks).

On a different tangent, one of the saddest aspects of this disaster is the emotional impact it has had on Greece as a nation. These are a people with deep pride in both their maritime and hospitality heritage, and this horrific event -- with the partiticulary bad timing of happening right before the biggest holiday of the year there -- weighs very heavily.

 

[smores]

here is one of the posts i read--saying that the family was in a cabin with a port hole (outside cabin)

Officials have named the missing pair as Jean-Christophe and Maud Allain, from Doue-la-Fontaine in western France.



They were in a four-berth cabin when the vessel struck a reef. Mr Allain's wife and son narrowly managed to escape to the upper decks.

Navy divers smashed the port hole of their cabin, but failed to find any trace of them, raising the possibility that they were trapped by watertight doors, says the BBC's Malcolm Brabant in Athens.

A submersible equipped with video equipment is expected to join the search.

 

[beachblanket]

here is one of the posts i read--saying that the family was in a cabin with a port hole (outside cabin)

Officials have named the missing pair as Jean-Christophe and Maud Allain, from Doue-la-Fontaine in western France.



They were in a four-berth cabin when the vessel struck a reef. Mr Allain's wife and son narrowly managed to escape to the upper decks.

Navy divers smashed the port hole of their cabin, but failed to find any trace of them, raising the possibility that they were trapped by watertight doors, says the BBC's Malcolm Brabant in Athens.

A submersible equipped with video equipment is expected to join the search.

The full story of this on the BBC website has no record of the divers actually entering and searching the cabin. Also, the version of Mrs. Allain's story "quoted" above is different than what being repeatedly reported just two days ago, when she said her son was not the cabin at the time of the collision, but instead up on an upper deck; in fact, her explanation for why she didn't remain in the cabin immediately after the collision to assist/search for her husband and daughter was because she instead "rushed above to locate her son."

 

[smores]

the article i posted was from bbc. . .

 

[birkner]

The full story of this on the BBC website has no record of the divers actually entering and searching the cabin. Also, the version of Mrs. Allain's story "quoted" above is different than what being repeatedly reported just two days ago, when she said her son was not the cabin at the time of the collision, but instead up on an upper deck; in fact, her explanation for why she didn't remain in the cabin immediately after the collision to assist/search for her husband and daughter was because she instead "rushed above to locate her son."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6534441.stm

Navy divers smashed the port hole of their cabin, but failed to find any trace of them, raising the possibility that they were trapped by watertight doors, says the BBC's Malcolm Brabant in Athens.

A submersible equipped with video equipment is expected to join the search.

The 143-metre (469 ft) Sea Diamond was about one nautical mile (1.8km) off the coast of Santorini when it struck a reef.

 

[smores]

here's another article. . . .

Officials in Santorini said that the two missing French passengers, a 45-year-old father and his 16-year-old daughter, were reported missing late on Thursday by another family member who was also on the cruise.

The officials said that five divers had been sent to the wreck, now resting on the sea bottom about 600 feet below the surface, to search cabins and corridors of the ship.

 

[beachblanket]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6534441.stm

Navy divers smashed the port hole of their cabin, but failed to find any trace of them, raising the possibility that they were trapped by watertight doors, says the BBC's Malcolm Brabant in Athens.

While the above says the divers broke the glass in a porthole, it does not state they actually entered the cabin, which isn't surprising - a tank adds a large amount of breadth to a diver (example below), which would likely make it difficult if not impossible to fit through a porthole (presumably they looked into the cabin with lights?)

Diver:

"porthole" cabin (one to the left) on the Sea Diamond:

 

[smores]

one report says they also searched corridors--can't do that from outside the ship. . .