[seadog] Queen Mary gangway deaths
- From: "Tom Blanchard" <tomblanchard@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "SEADOG" <seadog@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 18 Nov 2003 15:26:22 -0500
17 November 2003
The death toll from the gangway catastrophe beside the world's largest
cruise ship, the Queen Mary 2, rose to 15 yesterday, amid questions about
the presence of so many visitors in a working shipyard.
Almost all of those who died after a temporary gangway collapsed 60ft into a
dry dock at Saint-Nazaire, France, including several children, were the
family and friends of shipyard workers.
Two investigations, one judicial and one by the French government, will seek
to discover whether the 30ft-long footbridge to the new Cunard Line flagship
was badly constructed or whether too many people were allowed to cross at
the same time.
Jacques Chirac, the President, and Jean-Pierre Raffarin, the Prime Minister,
visited Saint-Nazaire yesterday to comfort the 29 people injured in the
accident and offer their condolences to the families of the dead. President
Chirac said he hoped the inquiry would "rapidly establish responsibility"
for the "incomprehensible tragedy."
Shipyard officials refused to comment on the causes of the disaster on
Saturday afternoon but admitted that the gangway one of several linking
the ship to the dock-side had not been built with public visits in mind.
They said that it was an industrial gangway of the kind used by shipyard
workers: a narrow, metal strip, fenced on either side and supported by
scaffolding.
For this reason, the bridge did not have a safety net, as is often the case
with public footbridges in France. One shipyard worker said: "They should
never have used a shipyard gangway for family visits. Workers don't go
across all at the same time. Visitors do, assuming that it will hold their
weight." The disaster will cast a shadow over the triumphant conclusion of
the three years work on the linerat Saint-Nazaire and the planned
commissioning and naming of the ship by the Queen in Southampton in January.
The vessel the largest, most elaborate and costliest liner ever built
had successfully completed its second sea trials last week. The regional
newspaperOuest France suggested yesterday that "legitimate pride" at the
completion of such a beautiful ship, on time and within budget, had perhaps
led the shipyard, Les Chantiers de L'Atlantique, to throw caution to the
winds. Under the English headline "Bloody Mary", the newspaper said that the
shipyard had been "too hasty" in opening the liner to visits by the family
and friends of yard workers.
The footbridge was built by specialist contractors on Friday and had been
used by hundreds of yard workers that afternoon and Saturday morning. Later
that day, the gangway and the supporting scaffolding buckled while 44 people
were crossing to, or from, the liner.
Some people fell 60ft to the concrete floor of the dry dock. Twelve people,
including several children, died immediately. Three have since died from
their injuries. Others, who managed to cling to the bridge as it collapsed,
suffered serious or minor injuries. Jason Schmitt, a shipyard worker who was
visiting the liner with his mother, escaped with bruises. His mother
suffered back injuries.
"It was a miracle we survived," he said. "I could feel the bridge going and
I shouted to everyone to hold on to the sides as best as they could."
Thousands of local people signed a book of condolences yesterday. Emmanuel
Audino, 33, a shipyard worker wrote: "The Queen Mary 2 has not yet left the
shipyard but it has already gone down in legend."
Be Safe,
Tom Blanchard
207 833 5947 home/office
207 841 3550 mobile
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