Sweden to Leave 800 Bodies Inside Sunken Ferry

Sweden decided Thursday to leave more than 800 bodies inside the sunken ferry Estonia and preserve the wreck as a grave on the bottom of the Baltic Sea.

The long-awaited decision immediately drew fire from some relatives who had hoped to retrieve the bodies of their loved ones.

“This is one hell of a stupid decision,” Kerstin Henriksson, a relative of two of the victims, told the Swedish news agency TT.

During the 2 1/2 months since the disaster, debate has been intense among supporters and opponents of a salvage that would be costly both financially and emotionally.

Although technically feasible at an estimated cost of $67 million, officials believe they would never be able to retrieve all 818 bodies or identify them with certainty.

Prime Minister Ingvar Carlsson said the emotional toll on salvagers would be intense and unnecessary. He said the monetary cost of raising the ship, which sank about 23 miles southeast of the Finnish island of Uto, had “played absolutely no part” in the decision.

More than 900 people died on Sept. 28 after a Baltic Sea storm tore off the Estonia’s front cargo door. Only 137 people survived and only 94 bodies were recovered.