Vessel was not permitted to carry people on open ocean and soon broke apart in heavy seas, official report says
An overloaded ferry that sank near the Pacific island archipelago of Kiribati last year, killing 95 people, was not allowed to carry passengers in the open sea, and had twice run aground before its final journey, an inquiry has found.
Only five passengers and two crew members of the 102 aboard survived the sinking of the MV Butiraoi ferry in January 2018. Many died of thirst and hunger while adrift for over a week in a lifeboat in the Pacific ocean.
