Many factors led to disaster
2002-10-03 11:54
Dakar - Official investigations into Senegal's ferry disaster which claimed about 1 000 lives concluded the ship was badly overloaded and the crew failed to observe proper safety procedures, but said the poor weather conditions were also to blame.
Senegal's President Abdoulaye Wade had demanded separate reports on the sinking from Armed Forces Minister Youba Sambou and Transport Minister Youssouph Sakho, both of whom resigned on
Tuesday in the wake of the disaster.
A total of 1 034 people - twice the vessel's capacity - were officially known to have been on board The Joola when it sank on September 26 in stormy seas off the coast of Gambia, which lies between the northern and southern halves of Senegal. Only 64 survivors have been found.
Between 300 and 400 corpses, most unidentifiable, have been
recovered and almost all the others are thought to have perished on board, where the bodies remain trapped.
Just three days before its ill-fated last voyage, the ship was
declared "in a good state of seaworthiness" by technicians after an annual inspection, said the armed forces ministry's report released late on Wednesday.
The transport ministry's investigation, published at the same
time, also reported the ship was in good condition.
However, both also concluded that the vessel was heavily
overloaded at the time.
In Ziguinchor, from where The Joola set off, and in Karabane,
where it made a stop, "the ship took on passengers who were not on the manifest", the report by the armed forces ministry said.
Sailing in defiance of maritime safety
"The overloading was confirmed, the Joola's capacity having been set by the ship's builders at 550 passengers", the transport
ministry said.
It charged that the ship was sailing "in defiance of all norms
of maritime safety".
It alleged that the captain, a naval officer, was "not entitled to take command of a merchant ship ... at least under international conventions".
However, the reports concluded that driving rain and strong
winds were also to blame for the tragedy.
The storm took the crew members by surprise and they were unable to carry out the proper emergency procedures, the armed forces ministry said.
It said the safety and rescue equipment was not released,
according to divers who examined the capsized ship.
The Joola was built in Germany in 1990 and was put into service by Senegal the same year. It had suffered a number of breakdowns, notably concerning its main port-side engine in August last year. - Sapa-AFP
- SAPA