Image source, Magnus Lejhall/TT/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock Image caption,

The 12-tonne loading ramp was retrieved from the seabed after hours of dredging work by a dive robots

By Paul Kirby

BBC News

A loading ramp from the MS Estonia which sank in 1994 has been recovered from the seabed and taken to port for investigation.

The ferry sank during a storm with the loss of 852 lives and an inquiry found that the ship's bow door locks had failed, allowing water to gush in.

But a TV documentary later revealed a lengthy hole in the ship's hull, prompting a new investigation.

Survivors hope it will provide a clear explanation of what went wrong.

The sinking of the Estonia, en route from Tallinn to Stockholm, was the biggest peacetime disaster involving a European passenger ship since the Titanic went down in 1912.

For almost six days Estonian, Swedish and Finnish investigators have worked close to the wreckage site in the Baltic Sea, using an underwater vehicle to examine the car deck, the hull and other areas of the ship.