Survivors and families of the 852 victims of the 1994 sinking of the "Estonia" car ferry in the Baltic Sea marked the 10th anniversary of the tragedy

Survivors and families of the 852 victims of the 1994 sinking of the "Estonia" car ferry in the Baltic Sea marked the 10th anniversary of the tragedy, calling for a new investigation into the cause of Europe's worst post-war maritime disaster. Ceremonies were held in Sweden, Finland and Estonia, the countries hardest hit by the catastrophe that claimed victims from 17 different nations. The Estonia sank on the night of September 27-28, 1994 off Finland's southwestern coast during a crossing from Tallinn to Stockholm. Only 137 of the 989 passengers and crew on board survived. In Stockholm, the Foundation of the Estonia Victims and their Relatives, known by its Swedish acronym SEA, held a demonstration where members rejected the conclusions of the final investigation report and urged the Swedish government to launch a new inquiry. Nearly 500 of those who perished were Swedish. A joint Swedish-Finnish-Estonian commission concluded in 1997 that "weak locking devices of the bow visor" door, which had provided an entry point for cars and trucks to roll onto the ferry, had been the main cause of the tragedy. When the locks ruptured, the outer bow door was ripped off and heavy seas gushed in, destabilizing the ship, according to the official report. Swallowed by the sea in less than 50 minutes, the ship still lies at a depth of 80 meters (265 feet), a watery grave for the hundreds of people trapped inside the vessel when it went down.