Ruling due on fatal QM2 accident
A French court was due to rule today on who was responsible for an accident that killed 15 people on the world’s largest ocean liner, the Queen Mary 2, before it set off on its maiden voyage.
A gangway collapsed in November 2003 during visitors’ day at the shipyard in Saint-Nazaire in western France weeks before the ship’s first trip.
The verdict at the Saint-Nazaire court follows two weeks of evidence in October by families of victims and employees of the companies that built the ship and the gangway.
The company that built the ocean liner, Chantiers de l’Atlantique, and the company that built the walkway, Endel, are both on trial.
The companies and eight of their employees on trial are charged with manslaughter.
If convicted, the individuals face up to three years in prison and more than €40,000 in fines. The companies, which have denied responsibility for the accident, would face much larger fines.
