In a shocking turn of events, the deaths of a mother and her child during a voyage on the Stena Spirit ferry from Gdynia to Karlskrona have led to a change in the investigation. The Regional Prosecutor’s Office in Gdansk, Poland, has now qualified the case as a homicide. Additionally, the Swedish prosecutor’s office has announced that it is investigating the incident as a murder.
The District Prosecutor’s Office in Gdansk is actively involved in the investigation of the deaths of the two Polish citizens. The spokesperson for the office, Grażyna Wawryniuk, revealed on Saturday that the case is currently being investigated as the murder of the child and the mother’s attempted suicide.
Both Poland and Sweden are involved in the investigation, as the incident occurred in Swedish territorial waters. The Regional Prosecutor’s Office in Gdansk officially opened the investigation on Friday, initially classifying it as manslaughter under Article 155 of the Penal Code.
Simultaneously, the Swedish prosecutor’s office has also launched its own investigation into the case. Public prosecutor Stina Brindmark of the Karlskrona Public Prosecutor’s Office confirmed the opening of a preliminary investigation into the incident, stating that the crime is being qualified as murder. However, no suspect has been identified yet. The primary objective of the investigation is to shed light on the sequence of events that took place on the ferry.
The tragedy unfolded on Thursday afternoon when a 7-year-old boy fell off the Stena Spirit ferry during its journey from Gdynia to Karlskrona. In a heart-wrenching act, the child’s 36-year-old mother jumped into the water after him. The ship immediately turned back, responding to the distressing situation.
Contradicting earlier reports from the Swedish Maritime Service, Stena Line Poland spokeswoman Agnieszka Zembrzycka stated on Thursday that the claim of the boy tripping and falling overboard, with the mother jumping in to save him, was not supported by CCTV footage. However, Zembrzycka did not provide further details on the exact nature of the dramatic events onboard the ferry.
A swift search and rescue operation was launched, involving boats, ships, and helicopters from both Sweden and Poland. After approximately an hour, the woman and child were located and swiftly transported to a hospital in Karlskrona. Tragically, on Friday, Inspector Mariusz Ciarka, spokesperson for the Polish Police, confirmed that both the boy and the woman had succumbed to their injuries.