Zero Hour - The Sinking of The Estonia 720p HD (Discovery)

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.

[adismell]

You've got to love the muggers and looters who seem to come out of the woodwork whenever there's a disaster. There must be special place in hell for such people.

[GrumpyOldMan]

Ship designers should discretely integrate ladder steps and handles in the walls or floors of transversal corridors. They can be used to climb up when the ship is on its side.

[TheMovieHero]

This was absolutely gut-wrenching. The part where the young man woke his parents and girlfriend up, and was trying to get them out, only for them to freeze in fear and tell him to leave without them absolutely got me really depressed in the worst way. If I was him I would have broken down there.

[Trust-me-I-am-a-dentist]

"20 Tons of water a second.." Jesus Christ they had no chance what so ever..

[GotYourWallet]

The guy with the camera flash was really smart. On the radio calls you can here the crew on the Mariella talk about 'blinking lights'.

[gordonblues]

Muggers on a sinking ship, is about the weirdest most f-ed up thing I have ever heard.

[SpaceCattttt]

My sister's ex-husband was one of the helicopter rescue pilots.

He was never quite the same afterwards...

[rehnen]

My dad is a swedish truck driver who was working in Estonia pretty much. He went home from work in Estonia (with m/s Estonia) just 2 days before it sank... I'm so glad and lucky he didn't went home to Sweden with the ship on the night it sank... 😥

[HKSArKz]

:( imagine watching your parents and your girlfriend saying save yourself. Couldnt even think of a more horrible thing to hear. Poor guy having to hear all that in his mind for the rest of his life :(

[ShhItsKelli]

In about six hours it has been exactly 20 years since the disaster happened. The news in Estonia are talking about it a lot, so I decided to watch this and reflect. I hope the souls lost on the ship and their friends and families have found their peace. 

[CountryRefuge]

This is one of the best documentaries I've seen in a long time and a worthwhile watch. Instead of focusing on the action and effects, this video focuses more closely on the human spirit in a disaster. The reflections of the seven featured survivors were deeply poignant in their accounts of what helped them survive--physical strength, luck, quick recognition of futility, etc.

[major]

Holy shit, imagine having to leave your parents and girlfriend behind.

[krock]

A few years later, Titanic was released in cinemas everywhere. That must've been a rough reminder for the survivors and the families of the victims.

[MrRooibos]

How low is that! Robbing half-dead people who could have lost family! I hope all the stolen jewellery made them sink!

[vigeee]

At 10:20: "The Finnish authorities had granted it an A1 certificate. Fit to sail anywhere in the world."

Totally wrong. What they were trying to say was that it was certified with ice class 1A (Finnish-Swedish Ice Class Rules). Ice class 1A is defined: "Ships with ice class 1A are intended for year-round operation in the Baltic Sea area, and are escorted if necessary (level ice thickness max.80cm)." It does not qualify the ship to "sail anywhere in the world" and only considers the ice breaking abilities of the ship. This accident happened fully because of a faulty design of the front vizier which led to wave loads putting excessive stresses on the vizier lock. Then it broke and we know what happened next...

[SonicsTwinSonie]

My mother's friend's brother was on the Estonia but he survived.
I travel over the Baltic Sea all the time since my relatives live in Finland and I live in Stockholm. I have been on both Mariella and Silja Europa and it feels weird knowing that such a tragedy occured on these waters.
May those who died in this tragedy rest in peace

[MyGreenFunds]

I was on the Estonia 3 months before it sank. I remember the day it sank and entire Swedish newspapers covering the incident days afterwards, and listing the 852 people who died (501 Swedes). I lived in Stockholm at the time. Everyone in the country knew someone on board or had a friend who knew someone. Businesses and organizations lost entire departments because the cruise was a venue for a conference. It really struck me how fate or luck can change or end a life. Just a decision to do something, or not, can have such an impact. Still haunts me.

[marimardus]

The Estonian crew was criticised for their poor reaction and evacuation. The crew had no idea what was going on. There was no alarm and half of the ship sinked really fast. What did they want them to do? The crew was aslo shocked. Even tough they had a safety drill few days ago.

[Annausagi]

I was only 5 when this happened, so I don't remember much about it, although it was a big disaster in my country (most of the passengers that night were Swedes). Even though they made some mistakes in the panic, I commend the crew for not running away and abandoning the passengers (looking at you, Costa Concordia and MV Sewol captains).
Rest in peace, everyone that we lost that day.

[moleman]

Our summer cottage is located in Nauvo, near the place where estonia sunk. Our cottage is located on the beach, and lifeguard HQ located about 50 meters away from our cottage. Lifeguard HQ was full of bodies, so they had to put some of them into the beach. So basically, there were bodies on our beach. Sorry for my bad english, i just had to tell this story.