Prince Charles Surveys Site of Ferry Disaster

Britain’s Prince Charles flew over the site of Europe’s worst peacetime maritime disaster today, saying his country owes a debt of gratitude to Belgium for its rescue operation after a British ferry capsized in the North Sea.

The prince began a two-day, previously scheduled visit to Belgium with a brief stopover in Zeebrugge, where officials said he visited with navy personnel, divers and other rescuers who helped save 409 passengers of the Herald of Free Enterprise car ferry that capsized Friday with an estimated 543 people aboard, most of them Britons.

Before flying to Brussels, where he was welcomed by Prime Minister Wilfried Martens, Charles flew by helicopter over the partially submerged hull of the 8,000-ton ship lying on its side a mile from Zeebrugge and visited with hospitalized survivors.

81 Trapped in Hull

The Friday night disaster claimed 134 lives. Fifty-three bodies have been recovered and 81 are presumed trapped in the hull of the roll-on, roll-off ferry that capsized in less than a minute in calm seas while en route to Dover, England.

Saying Britain owes Belgium “a great debt of gratitude,” Prince Charles told rescuers the disaster would have been much worse had it not been for their efficient operation in getting people out of the vessel quickly.

Later in the day, about 30 relatives of disaster victims joined Anglican and Roman Catholic churchmen for a memorial service at sea near the wreck. Officials said the service was held aboard a Belgian tug, the Fighter, which helped rescue 250 people from the ferry Friday night.

Salvage operations continued today at the site of the wreck, but officials said they do not expect to recover bodies trapped in the hull for at least three weeks--too late for them to be identifiable.