Original subtitles

That Carita would work on the Estonia

was not something we as parents could have predicted.

But she was a qualified service manager.

Her job was to educate and train, primarily Estonian students,

how to be correctly service minded.

I've got to film this.

Turn it off, it's not funny.

Carita came home one day and said she had a met a guy named Peter.

And he was just like her.

He was service minded,

and also worked onboard the vessel as a service manager.

Carita and Peter enjoyed travelling.

They travelled the world before they were married

to really find out if they were compatible with each other.

Peter told me that he and Carita

had spoken a lot about

if something happened on the Baltic Sea,

if one of them were to die, how they would handle it.

They promised that they would retrieve each other's body

if no one else did, and bury it in a proper manner.

Imagine that a government could hinder such a thing.

You take care of your loved ones when you can.

I heard about the disaster around 5.50 am,

when my clock radio turned on.

The search for survivors from The Estonia is slowing down.

40 to 100 people have so far been...

I realised something must've happened.

And at 6 o'clock the news came on.

One of the worst maritime disasters ever has happened in the Baltic Sea.

838 people still missing after the ferry Estonia sank last night.

There's a storm in the area. Major rescue operations are underway.

The majority of the 867 on board have gone down with the Estonia.

Already the next day, the 28th of September,

the extent of the disaster was apparent.

That morning we woke up because the telephone rang.

It was a relative of ours who knew

that grandmother and Bosse had gone to Estonia on a ferry.

I met Peter at the ferry terminal.

He told me that Carita hadn't survived.

Hearing that was absolutely dreadful.

Entire school classes, groups, workers, all died on the ship.

The public was in shock.

WHY?

Dressed in black, Prime Minister Carl Bildt arrived in Ĺbo a few hours ago.

He's meeting the Finnish Prime Minister Esko Aho

and Estonia's Mart Laar going to discuss the rescue operation

and further cooperation after last night's ferry disaster.

Everyone agrees. Find out what happened, so it doesn't happen again.

It's extremely important to know what happened,

because it's a little mysterious.

We saw a lot of water rushing in through the bow visor.

Where did the water come from?

Through the bow visor where the cars drive out.

So water was coming in through the front of the boat?

- Yes. - The door?

At this time I was in the machine room.

- I saw in the camera... - To the front?

You saw water coming in?

The cause appears to be the bow visor not having been properly closed.

Carl Bildt, Information has surfaced about an open hatch

causing the ship to take in water.

What's your opinion on this and who's responsible?

I can't comment on that.

The Accident Investigation Commission will do that, they're the experts.

At the time of the disaster we were between two governments.

There had just been an election.

The current Prime Minister was Carl Bildt,

and the Prime Minister elect was Ingvar Carlsson.

Both were asked about their opinions on what to do.

How should we handle the deceased?

How should we handle the vessel?

A huge effort is necessary to retrieve the deceased,

which for the sake of the relatives I regard as very, very important.

We've discussed how to start that process.

Every effort must be made to salvage the vessel.

No matter the cost?

Even if the cost is high we'll attempt to do it.

Everyone wanted this investigated in a constructive and correct manner

to correctly establish how this accident could have happened.

First and foremost to prevent this kind of disaster

from happening again in the future.

CARL BILDT WEEPS

Now it was time to investigate the disaster properly

and retrieve as many bodies as possible,

maybe even the vessel itself. That was the immediate reaction.

I thought it was natural after a disaster like this.

Especially this accident, where so many people couldn't get out

and were still inside the vessel.

MATS, 12, LOST ENTIRE FAMILY

It felt like the general public expected the right course of action.

It simply had to be done.

All next of kin were very relieved

when both Prime Ministers said they would do

everything in their power to retrieve the deceased.

That gave us hope despite the misery.

But after a few weeks, we realised that that was not entirely true.

About a week after the accident the new government took over.

Someone got the responsibility of handling the Estonia disaster.

That was Minister of Communication Ines Uusmann.

When she was giving her statements,

we realised this wasn't going to end well.

Everything was a problem.

It takes about 28 days after leaving the surface

for the pressure chamber to adjust the pressure.

It seemed like a gigantic complicated operation

because Estonia was at great depths.

But if you stood the Estonia upright,

everything over 60 metres would be over the surface.

That's how shallow it is there.

The responsibility given to Ines Uusman was extensive

and very difficult for an inexperienced person to handle.

Ines Uusman relied on officials from the Swedish Maritime Administration.

Epecially Johan Fransson,

chief legal officer of the Swedish Maritime Administration.

He was a big influence in the further development of the whole case.

Due to the great depth

and weight of the vessel,

the operation is technically very demanding.

Johan Fransson was given the task of investigating ways

to salvage the wreck and deceased.

His report that came just a few weeks after the disaster

listed many problems with a salvage operation.

Every dive in and around

the Estonia is extremely risky.

Divers could get trapped,

which of course is every diver's worst nightmare.

The umbilical cable could get damaged.

Divers could be injured by life rafts that are suddenly released.

There will be a lot of glass and such which could cut the divers.

This is a big problem in my opinion.

Never mind the normal technical issues of such a vessel.

There was a change in the reporting and attitude

regarding salvage of the deceased and the vessel.

This began immediately after

the Swedish Maritime Administration was tasked with the investigation.

That led to a nationwide discussion: To salvage or not to salvage.

A retrieval and proper burial would provide closure.

I can understand the relatives wanting their loved ones retrieved.

I respect that.

But we shouldn't put more lives at risk, if it's too dangerous.

The question is in what state are people prepared

to get back their loved ones.

It sounds grim, but we've never experienced a disaster like this.

I think they should be left there.

I don't think it will be a pretty sight, if they bring up all the dead.

They are dead, and a grave doesn't mean that much to me.

Why was did not salvaging even become an issue?

The first instinct was to retrieve the deceased.

But then the question arose, salvage or don't salvage?

How was that even a question?

Without a clear message, speculations began to flourish.

Everything from conspiracy theories to pure speculation.

"THE RUSSIANS BLEW UP THE ESTONIA"

It's possible to imagine the Soviets

transporting weapons or explosives.

People started speculating.

Are they hiding something?

Why won't they salvage the vessel?

Ingvar Carlsson said he would do everything in his power

to salvage the vessel, but he hasn't done anything.

- Is the worst part not knowing? - Yes, we want to know.

The relatives met the minister of communications,

the Swedish Maritime Administration and the board of ethics.

It was an emotional three hour long meeting.

Are you going to salvage or not? It's why I'm here.

I spent all morning on a bus.

Will there be a salvage? We aren't getting any answers.

The relatives quickly learned

how politicians talk without giving any answers.

- You're not satisfied? - No. They're dragging it out.

To distance themselves and us from this

so we don't demand a salvage. That's it.

The Minister of Communications

struggled to explain why Ingvar Carlsson wasn't there.

I'm sure he'll meet them some other time.

- Why isn't he here today? - He's not home.

- They offered to change the date. - I can't comment on that.

"WHY AREN'T WE GETTING ANY ANSWERS, CARLSSON?"

It was clear after the fact that there was a distinct turn around

from salvage to no salvage.

The Swedish government for example,

in an attempt to quiet the unrest amongst relatives,

and friends of the deceased,

appointed an ethics counsel.

It was made up of ethics experts, no technical experts.

They had very little technical proficiency.

They were more experienced in ethical matters.

The ethics counsel was tasked by the government

to give a recommendation about salvaging the vessel

and what should be done with the bodies.

My first thought was that it was good to get the church involved.

It was a well-made group. I felt assured.

I couldn't say no to this. They put their trust in me.

Whatever the decision, someone will be affected.

It's the nature of a disaster.

Whatever decision is made and what happens afterwards,

someone will be affected badly, sometimes really badly.

And who that is, depends on the outcome of this process.

I think it's really difficult.

We received a lot of knowledge.

We depended on that, because we ourselves knew nothing.

I have no idea how to salvage a huge vessel,

I had to rely on the information the ethical council received.

When you know nothing about the subject,

asking the right questions is hard.

We had to rely on the reports we got.

Afterwards we realised the ethics counsel relied completely

on recommendations from the Swedish Maritime Administration.

Once again, it was Johan Fransson

who informed the group about the wreck and the deceased.

Johan Fransson was very much against a salvage,

and he was a skilled debater.

At the time of the disaster, I was the Swedish ambassador to Estonia.

I was asked to take part in the ethics council meetings

as an expert on Estonian matters.

The first meeting I attended

included Fransson from the Swedish Maritime Administration

and coroners from the forensic department.

There was a slide show with images from inside the submarine "Wolf"

that hit a mine towards the end of the Second World War.

The images showed bodies inside the submarine.

The images were dreadful.

There was also an oral description of what it would look like

on the inside of the Estonia.

Furnishings torn apart and ripped from their fixtures,

comparable to a scene from an earthquake, with dead bodies...

Jammed in, et cetera.

The lecture went on for quite some time,

and everyone in the room was effectively silenced.

I think it was relevant.

There's no other comparable disaster in Swedish Maritime history.

There is no doubt about that.

What was more peculiar,

was that it was obvious that the speakers,

Fransson and the coroners,

were clearly trying to steer us away from doing a salvage.

All the information from various reports put together

told us that this would be much more difficult than we could imagine.

There were about 800 bodies to retrieve and identify.

How would they be retrieved? How long would it take?

What should be done with the bodies? How do we identify them?

We had to ask ourselves questions on different levels.

One ethical question that arose was:

Do we risk more lives to retrieve dead bodies?

It was made clear that it would be traumatic

for the divers and the coroners to handle that many bodies at once.

It would cause lasting psychological harm

to those involved.

The summary of all the reports we received

was that it was very complicated and practically impossible.

In December 1994 Rockwater were contracted by

the Swedish National Maritime Administration

to survey the wreck of the Estonia.

DIVERS GOING IN

The purpose of it, as far as I understood,

was for the Swedish Maritime Administration

to be able to make a decision about the recoverability of the Estonia.

They were putting together a team. I was asked to go on the Estonia.

Myself and my fellow divers had to have an evaluation

to make sure that we didn't have any problems with diving on it.

Because we knew that there would be bodies.

The work for the divers,

if it wasn't for the fact that there was a lot of tragic victims involved,

it would've been quite easy. It wasn't a difficult task.

We got to the site, set up location. We were given a dive plan.

We were going into the cabins below the car decks.

The water depth of the Estonia was actually quite shallow.

I think the bottom of it was 85 metres.

A free diver can hold his breath and go down to 85 metres.

We got down in the bell, sealed the bell and went down.

I remember that vividly. The door opens up when you get to 55 metres.

I looked out,

and there was this beautiful light system on the outside of the bell.

My first thought was that it was absolutely crystal clear.

It was beautiful visibility. You could see 50 metres.

It was unheard of. Maybe it's just the Baltic Sea, but it was beautiful.

Looking down at the Estonia, it was quite something. Beautiful, white.

The keel was pristine, as if it just came out of the dry dock.

There wasn't any debris that was going to hamper us,

so we started moving the vessel ahead

to where we were going to burn through into the cabin space.

It was reinforced steel.

I broke a small hole and put my light in to see if I could see anything.

I couldn't, so I broke a bigger hole

and put my hand in to make sure I couldn't feel anything in there.

Then I expanded the hole so I could get inside.

OK, are you ready?

- We're ready whenever you are. - OK.

We were going into the cabins below the decks.

I'm outside the first cabin.

We wanted to see if anyone was in the cabin.

- I've opened the door. - OK.

I went into the first cabin.

It was easy. The cabins below deck were really small.

It was all about if I was able to see anything inside the cabin.

Visibility wasn't too bad.

But as soon as I came inside, everything stirred up.

I can feel a body next to me, but I can't see it.

- You can feel a body next to you? - Yes.

OK, so there's a body...

- Just keep going in. - Roger.

We weren't just freely swimming around the Estonia

doing what we wished. There were authorities on board.

They told us exactly where to go and what to look at.

Just below you to your right there may be a body.

- I've got two bodies here. - Two bodies?

Is it possible to get a close-up for the doctor?

Our job was to follow their orders.

They said: "Look here, there, look across to the next cabin."

"If you come across a body,

"treat it with respect and move it out of the way. That's all."

I would like you to approach one of the bodies.

I need a shot of the face on your helm camera.

- Can you see that? - Negative.

Can you see that?

- All I see is hair. - OK.

Should I pull it up and turn it around?

If you can, yes.

OK, we've seen enough. Thank you.

During those dives, when the guys came back from their bell runs

we would discuss what we had seen and done.

Some of the guys went through some areas were...

There were dead bodies everywhere.

Another body as you go straight through the door?

- There are loads of them? - Yes, it is.

- OK. Are you OK? - Yes.

The dive from the shopping area...

There were quite a few bodies inside there.

There were definitely bodies trapped,

people were trying to escape out the doors.

Some in dressing gowns running out of their cabins.

They were actually still in relatively good condition.

Some had lipstick on, still as fresh as two months before.

One by one we passed them.

It was always in the back of your mind:

"We're right there. Why couldn't you bring them up?"

- The body is just to your right? - Yes.

- Carry on moving in. - OK.

To not actually recover those bodies... It was upsetting.

As divers we could've brought them up in a few hours.

It wouldn't have been a problem.

Nothing practical would stop us recovering a body.

Put it in a body bag, in a basket and lift it up to the vessel.

It sounds kind of cold, but...

But that's the practicality. Body bag, basket, up to the surface.

But it wasn't what we were tasked to do.

All we needed was a basket.

The proper authorities could've flown out a coroner.

It would take one call. For someone to say:

"Yes, let's recover all those bodies."

That would've been... Why not? We were shocked.

Our conclusion at the time was that

a significant amount of the bodies could've been recovered.

We pinpointed 125 victims which we documented in our report.

We could've recovered more if that was the intent.

It's not a lot compared to 852. But it's a lot, for sure.

And we also wrote in the report

that in our opinion the vessel was salvageable at the time.

It would've been complicated,

but we considered it salvageable.

Prime Minister Ingvar Carlsson will now inform

on the matter of salvaging the Estonia.

The question of whether to salvage or not to salvage

can be viewed from different stand points.

From practical problems to ethical questions.

But there's also every individual's wishes.

Relatives who each in their own way grieve their loved ones.

That is why we can no longer delay the decision.

The relatives and everyone else deserve an answer.

Even if it causes frustration for some.

The Swedish government has decided

that the passenger ferry MS Estonia and the deceased

will remain in the ocean.

This afternoon the Swedish Government decided

that the Estonia will remain on the ocean floor forever.

The decision was not based on financial or technical issues,

but ethical ones.

In all my 30 years in politics

I've never faced a more difficult and painful decision.

Last autumn, Ingvar Carlsson promised to salvage the Estonia.

Today, he apologised for that.

If I knew then what I know now, I would not have made that promise.

How can a Prime Minister break his promise to do the civilised thing?

That's incomprehensible.

I'm very disappointed and angry over the way things turned out.

The decision not to salvage the Estonia

was like a house of cards collapsing.

It felt like hitting a wall.

Somebody said we wouldn't recover the bodies because we'd be traumatized.

But it was more traumatizing to leave bodies that we could have recovered.

25 years later we still talk about the Estonia, and all wonder why.

It was a difficult decision to make.

We knew many would be relieved, and many would think it was wrong.

I have many thank-you-letters and just as many saying it was wrong.

I felt the whole time,

that the government, the ethics council and the investigators

did the best they could with what they had.

Sometimes being humane just isn't enough.

We can still make mistakes even when we try our best.

I think that the way the authorities acted

during the Estonia crisis was completely insane.

And what happened after that was even worse.

The site where the MS Estonia sank

will now be regarded as a burial site.

To ensure respect for the sacredness of the grave

the vessel will be covered and special measures will be taken

to protect the burial site by law.

The Estonia will be covered with rocks or concrete

to prevent grave plundering.

We're covering up the Estonia for all concerned about looters.

There was a large amount of alcohol onboard.

The deceased might be wearing jewellery.

It was a dreadful thought

that strangers might touch the bodies on the vessel.

A very unpleasant thought.

The final decision did not silence the debate

on the country's worst disaster.

Never before in history was there a proposal

to cover a wreck and its deceased with concrete.

An unbelievable idea. Why would they suggest it?

The mood was hostile at the meeting between

the relatives of the Estonia victims

and representatives from the government.

I think it's imperative to respect the government's decision

You talked about respect.

I think its disrespectful to bury people in concrete.

This would never have happened in Norway.

We can't disregard the large group of relatives

who will suffer psychologically for the rest of their lives

because of something that happened after the disaster.

Whenever I'm at the cemetery

I look at the memorial stone and the poem on the memorial stone.

I feel that Hjřrunn should be here. A piece of Hjřrunn should be here.

I still have hope

that he will be retrieved from the Baltic Sea.

Or that whatever is left

can be retrieved from the Baltic Sea.

That's what I'm hoping for.

It should've been done long ago, but...

It's never too late. I don't know

?When Peter realised that the government

would not retrieve the deceased,

he understood that he would have to do it himself.

Peter began planning the expedition in January and February 1995.

He couldn't accept the cement shell.

He had made a promise to Carita that he was determined to keep.

This had to be done legally

before the Peace of the Grave agreement took effect.

The insurance money he had received would pay for the operation.

Using a German vessel

he could get to the site of the shipwreck.

He managed to obtain the correct coordinates of the vessel.

There, he would retrieve Caritas body with the help of a so called ROV.

Peter had spoken to Carita's friends who had survived.

They had told him how she died,

and he knew exactly where she was.

He had worked onboard the vessel himself

and knew very well what it looked like.

It was no problem at all to go in and get her.

This was all before the Peace of the Grave agreement took effect.

It was totally legal to go there.

But the Swedish government found out about his expedition

and sent an ice-breaker.

Fairplay VII. This is ice-breaker Ale.

This area is according to Swedish, Finnish and Estonia law

the final resting place of the victims on the Estonia ferry.

Can you respect that and leave the area? Over.

Can you imagine a government hindering such a cause?

Fairplay VII, Fairplay VII.

Don't submerge any equipment in order to take photos and so on.

I'll call the Finnish coast guard

and inform them about your intentions. Over.

The Ale arrived and starting making waves,

which is forbidden in international waters.

This meant they weren't able to attempt to retrieve Carita's body.

He had to give up this attempt.

I thought I was a citizen of a civilised country.

Clearly I'm not, since the government refuses to take care of its citizens.

I believe that if Carita's body had been retrieved

and we had buried her in the grave we have,

where Peter now lies alone, that would have comforted us.

We could've carried on with our lives

and thought it was dreadful what had happened,

but at least we had her body home

and could bury her in a proper manner.

Late last night the Tertnes arrived

at the site of the Estonia wreck, carrying 10000 tons of crushed rock.

Today the crew mapped out exactly where the Estonia is lying

and tomorrow they'll dump their cargo

to reinforce the seabed around the wreck.

For a normal sane person it makes no sense

to cover a wreck with concrete after an accident.

If it was a regular accident.

Why did the government make this choice?

It's the total opposite of what you would normally do.

We still don't know if it really was an accident.

Something else could've happened out there.

To me it seemed like they were trying to hide something.

All I know is that Hjřrund is somewhere in the Baltic Sea.

But no one can tell me why he's out there.

They retrieved the bow visor. That's it.

But that doesn't tell us much. It just fell off.

Why won't they retrieve the vessel? Is there something to hide?

The investigation hasn't explained why the Estonia sank so quickly.

Water came in through the car deck and the ferry sank.

There's no explanation why the ferry sank.

It seems like they skipped something.

The bow visor opened and water came in through the car deck,

causing the vessel to sink.

The laws of physics say that the vessel should have capsized.

Look at the MS Jan Heweliusz that capsized.

She floated for about a week.

For a vessel to sink, air must be replaced by water.

There must've been some type of hole that caused the vessel to sink.

Scientists said they've never heard

of a vessel like the Estonia sinking so quickly

without a hole beneath the waterline.

They didn't even investigate that.

Why not? Why didn't they do this?

What are they hiding?

What are they trying to prevent from coming out?

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