Thirteen die in Queen Mary 2 gangway collapse

Rescue workers surround the Queen Mary 2 cruise liner 
docked in Saint-Nazaire shipyard, France, after an accident 
occurred aboard the liner killing thirteen people, several of 
them children, and injuring 22 others, 15 November 2003. 
AFP PHOTO FRANK PERRY

Sunday, November 16, 2003

SAINT NAZAIRE, France (AFP): Thirteen people were killed and 32 others injured Saturday when a walk-way collapsed on the Queen Mary 2, the world's largest passenger ship which has its maiden Caribbean voyage scheduled for next April.

A 30-foot gangway from the quayside erected just the day before broke during a visit by a party of family-members of shipyard construction workers, precipitating around 40 people into a fall of 60 feet into the dry-dock.

Rescue-workers said initially there were several children among the victims, though this could not later be confirmed. Of the injured, nine were in a critical condition.

Built by the troubled French engineering giant Alstom, the Queen Mary 2 has been undergoing sea-trials and is due to be handed over to Cunard next month, with an official launch to be attended by the Queen in Southampton on January 8.

The liner returned from its latest successful tests on Tuesday and was in dry-dock for final fitting-out. Every weekend between now and its departure it has been open for visits by select members of the public.

Its first trip is scheduled to be from Southampton to Fort Lauderdale, Florida on January 12.

The 150,000-tonne vessel measures 1,132 feet in length and 203 feet high from above the waterline - the equivalent of a 23-storey building. It has a 1,000-seat theatre, a planetarium, five swimming pools, a ballroom and the world's largest floating library.

The ship was sold for US$800 million to the Carnival group, which owns the historic Cunard line.

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