The boom of the historic sailing ship on Terschelling that broke off at the end of August, killing a twelve-year-old girl, was affected by wood rot. That is the conclusion of the Dutch Safety Board (OVV) Friday after examination.
Following the accident, the OVV will continue with a ‘follow-up investigation’. It examines to what extent lessons can be learned from the accident and what is needed to prevent these types of accidents. On board the ship were young people from a school in The Hague who were on an excursion on 31 August. The boom, connected perpendicular to the mast, broke off and landed on the girl. No one else was injured.
The OVV has in the already warned in the past for the risk of wood rot in ships of the ‘brown fleet’, the traditional sailing ships. Severe rotting wood was no exception, according to the OVV and could have deadly consequences. The OVV has previously investigated similar accidents. On 21 August 2016 in Harlingen and on 20 March 2019 in Zaandam, a total of four people lost their lives because part of a mast broke off and fell on them. Wood rot was also the cause.