Reading about the latest tragedy of a boatload of refugees drowning in the Mediterranean, reminded me This moving memorial on the seafront at Hania.
"The Monument of the Hand" was erected near the harbour in Chania to commemorate
the memory of the 200 souls who died on the night of 8th December 1966
The car ferry "S.S. Heraklion" was making it's way From Souda Bay to Piraeus in gale force 9 winds when tragedy struck.
Whilst sailing off the rocky island of Falconera, it is believed that a truck containing a cargo of oranges became unsecured. It began hitting the loading bay door which eventually gave way and the sea rushed in. Th ferry sank within about 15 minutes.
Only 46 people were rescued. The number of those drowned was approximately 200, but not really known as at that time it was customary to board the ferry and buy your ticket on board. One of the dead was Michael Robert Hall King, a grandson of Robert Baden Powell
Nowadays, passenger ships operating in Greek waters are prohibited from sailing in winds at or greater than Force 9 on the Beaufort scale, but at that time it was up to the captain to decide whether to sail or not, sometimes under pressure from the ship owners.
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