Wrong Choices, Bad Weather Caused Dashun Ferry Accident
Bad weather and bad choices have been deemed the causes of last November's maritime tragedy, which killed 280 passengers abroad a ferry.
A special investigative team has publicized its findings and transferred the investigation work to higher authorities, according to officials with the Safe Production Department under the State Economic and Trade Commission (SETC), the Chinese media has reported during the weekend.
Those directly responsible for the mishap will be severely punished, the team said.
All but 20 out of the ferry's 302 passengers were confirmed killed or still missing when the Dashun ferry caught fire and capsized on November 24 en route from Yantai in Shandong Province to Dalian in Liaoning Province.
Shan Chunchang, who chaired the department under the commission, said that they came to the conclusion that the tragedy was caused by a cluster of reasons, but that human error topped the list, according to the Beijing Morning Post.
The ship was overloaded with goods, and the crew failed to pack them properly, the Beijing Evening News reported on Saturday.
When fire broke out in the cabin, the crew misjudged the situation and put too much water into the cabin in the hope of extinguishing the fire, a move which accelerated the ship's sinking.
In addition, the crew failed to send out any emergency signals asking for help, and did not inform passengers to come to the deck before the ship turned over.
The investigative team also admitted that the bad weather conditions in the sea area slowed the rescue efforts.
Shan indicated that the owner of the Dashun ferry -- the Yanda Group -- held major responsibility for the tragedy.
Since 1997, three ships from the Yanda Group have sunk in the Bohai Sea, while the group failed to adopt effective measures to enhance their security, Shan said.
Figures from the Ministry of Communications show that 769 passengers died in ship or boat accidents in 1999, a 26.9 per cent increase from 1998.
