Survivors and relatives are calling for a preliminary investigation into the alleged murders of those who died when the Estonia sank in 1994. Among other things, they want the bodies to be returned for examination and investigate who is responsible for the ship not being seaworthy.
After the documentary Estonia – the discovery that changed everything (Estonia – fyndet som ändrar allt), revealed a large hole in the hull of the ship that was previously unknown to the public, there have been calls to re-examine the incident. The heavily criticized Swedish Accident Investigation Authority (Statens haverikommission – SHK) conducted new investigations into the sinking, but maintained that there would have been no explosion or collision with another ship that could have caused the large hole in the hull.
Now 14 survivors and some 20 relatives are demanding that the Attorney General initiate a preliminary investigation of murder regarding the 852 people who died when the ferry sank, Ekot reports.
– We turn to the highest instance in the judiciary to possibly get an answer to alleviate the suffering endured by all the relatives and survivors, says Anders Eriksson, one of the survivors.
No judicial review of the incident has been conducted. However, in 2020, the Swedish Prosecution Authority received a request to reopen the previously closed preliminary investigation into the sinking of the M/S Estonia or to initiate a new one. In February this year, the authority announced its decision not to proceed with the request.
The ship is under what’s called “griftefrid” which loosely translates to “sanctity of the grave”, a Swedish law that requires the protection of burial sites. As a result, relatives have not been allowed to bring their deceased home for burial, but now they want the police and prosecutors to take care of some of the well-preserved bodies found near the wreck.
– Since there are bodies lying outside the wreck that are intact, we have been told after the Accident Authority has been out diving, but they are not tasked with recovering any bodies or taking care of the dead in any way, so a police report is needed, says Linnea Karlsson, who lost her mother in the disaster.
Furthermore, it is believed that prosecutors should investigate which other ships were in the vicinity when the Estonia sank, where the reported missing persons are and who is responsible for the ship not being seaworthy.
The M/S Estonia sank on September 28, 1994 with 989 people on board, 852 of whom died. The incident is considered one of the world’s worst maritime disasters since the Second World War.
