Pajtás

The Memorial of the 1954 accident in Balatonfüred (erected 1999)

Pajtás was a steam powered passenger ship manufactured in 1918, by Schlick-Nicholson shipyard in Budapest.[1] It was designed to carry passengers on the Danube, but later it was commissioned to Lake Balaton with a lot of modifications (e.g. expanding capacity from 150 to 200), but without any official stability test or approval.

On 30 May 1954 a lot of people were celebrating children's day. Pajtás was starting from Balatonfüred to Siófok with 178 passengers. Shortly after departure, the ship tilted to port then starboard. The captain tried to restore stability but the third tilt (again to port) was deadly, and the ship capsized. The steam was emergency released by the boiler room operator, which cost him his life but prevented more casualties by explosion of the boiler.[2][3][4]

The exact number of casualties is still a matter of discussion. The official report by communist newspapers counted 12 people. The list made by survivors on the 45th anniversary of the sinking counted 23 names. One witness said, he counted 43 bodies after the accident.

References

  1. ↑ http://www.hajoregiszter.hu/hajoadatlap/domsod_ex_siofok_ex_pajtas_ex_ii_/115/en
  2. ↑ http://szegedma.hu/hir/szeged/2012/01/a-balaton-titanicja-fotok.html#more-164859
  3. ↑ http://www.zsaru.hu/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=128
  4. ↑ http://www.hajokanno.hu/pajtastrg.html
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