Another tragedy involving a ship has taken place following the death of a mother and her 7-year-old child. The pair fell off a ferry traveling from Sweden to Poland, according to authorities. The deaths mark another instance in a long string of high-profile civilian deaths at sea in recent weeks.
According to Fox News, the case is being investigated as a homicide by Swedish officials, with prosecutor Stina Brindmark saying, “The investigation aims to try to clarify what happened.” According to the Swedish Maritime Administration, the young boy fell from 65 feet above sea level before his mother leaped into the frigid waters to attempt a rescue.
Neither the mother nor the child survived. Shortly after the fall, the pair found their way overboard, a search helicopter was dispatched. Passengers from the ferry saw the chopping lift the mother and son out of the water and transport them away. Both of the victims were taken to a hospital where the two were pronounced dead.
Polish police spokesman Mariusz Ciarka offered a brief statement following the failed attempt to save the victims. “Unfortunately,” Ciarka said, “in the morning we received information from the Swedish side that we have to pass on this terrible news to the family, because both the boy and the woman are dead,”
Stena Spirit, the ferry line that the tow had been traveling on, was also able to make the following statement regarding the incident. “At the moment we have no information whether this was due to a malfunction of the ferry. We are cooperating with the police and other authorities that are appointed to explain the causes and circumstances of this event.”
The vessel was said to have been carrying 310 passengers. Stefan Elfstrom, an employee of Stena Line, explained how the situation unraveled in the eyes of the crew. “Items have been found that belong to these people, but not the people themselves. Then the alarm went off, the crew looked at the surveillance cameras and saw that two people had fallen into the water.”
He also added that it is unclear whether the pair was traveling alone or with other family and friends aboard the ferry. What has remained clear is that the mom and son did not make a massive scene while entering the sea.
This tragedy comes just days after the conclusion of the search for the submarine lost at the site of the Titanic Wreckage. Such a case emphasizes the dangers of open water and the need for caution when one may expect to encounter it. Earlier this summer, another teen decided to leap into open water from the deck of a cruise ship and fell to a similar fate.
While it may seem a search and recuse attempt is easy in a sea or ocean, boats move much faster than many passengers realize. Once overboard, a recuse is far from a certain thing.
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