Father recounts horror of fatal collision off Tjörn: 'It goes black'

A father has described the harrowing moments of a fatal collision off the coast of Tjörn, an incident that claimed the lives of his wife and child. The collision occurred when a leisure boat was sucked under the bow of a large cargo ship, pulling the father underwater.

“

Then everything is upside down, then it just goes black in half a second for me.

"Then everything is upside down, then it just goes black in half a second for me," the father recounted in interrogation, describing the terrifying experience. The accident happened around 10 p.m. on July 28, when the leisure boat and the cargo ship collided in Hakefjorden. Information was initially scarce, but soon it became clear that two people, a mother and a child, were missing.

“

I felt nothing.

When rescue services arrived, the leisure boat had sunk. The father and a preschool-aged child were found in the water by private individuals and brought to safety, though both were seriously injured. The cargo ship's captain, a Russian citizen, claimed he felt nothing and suggested the leisure boat might have capsized due to a wave. He stated that the Swedish pilot was in control of the vessel at the time.

“

My experience? I think the boat capsized because of a wave.

Both the captain and the Swedish pilot are now on trial, accused of causing death and injury through negligence in maritime traffic. They both deny any wrongdoing. The investigation is ongoing, with many questions remaining about how the collision occurred and why it went unnoticed by those on the cargo ship's bridge.

“

The pilot. He was steering.