Forgotten ferry tragedy

WITH church services commemorating the sinking of the Herald of Free Enterprise 30 years ago with the loss of 193 lives, many, including broadcasters, assume this was the worst ferry disaster that year. It was certainly widely covered by the media But this isn’t the case. On December 20, 1987, the ferry Dona Paz collided with tanker MT Vector. Of the estimated 4,386 people on board (the exact number will never be known) only 24 survived, probably the largest loss of life at sea in peace time.

The reason why most people are unaware of this is that the collision took place in the sea around the Philippines and did not attract the media attention that followed the Zeebrugge disaster.

DAVID SPENCER, Canterbury, Kent.