Ferry toll remains mystery

Press, 7 April 1987, Page 10

Ferry toll remains mystery

NZPA-AAP London A question still remains over the number of bodies trapped inside the Herald of Free Enterprise as salvage teams prepare to right the ill-fated car ferry. The ship was expected to be raised yesterday, but a heavy swell off the Belgian port of Zeebrugge delayed the operation until today’s high tide. It will not be known exactly how many died in the tragedy until the ferry is righted but a spokeswoman for the ferry owners, Townsend Thoresen, said original estimates were still believed to be correct. It had been reported last week that there could be as many as 140 bodies still inside the ship, double the original estimate.

But Townsend Thoresen said that figure had been arrived at as a result of news media badgering of its Belgian manager, and it now insists that 73 people are missing. Meanwhile, a Glasgow university team has come up with a new design that would make car ferries more difficult to capsize. The design incorporates twin deep hulls and the placement of vehicles and passenger decks well above the water line.