“A Sea Story: One of the Worst Maritime Disasters in European History Took Place a Decade Ago. It Remains Very Much in the Public Eye. On a Stormy Night on the Baltic Sea, More Than 850 People Lost Their Lives When a Luxurious Ferry Sank below the Waves. From a Mass of Material, including Official and Unofficial Reports and Survivor Testimony, Our Correspondent Has Distilled an Account of the Estonia’s Last Moments—Part of His Continuing Coverage for the Magazine of Anarchy on the High Seas”, William Langewiesche2004-05 (tech)⁠:

Psychology and survival: the MS Estonia was a car ferry whose nose came off in a Baltic storm at night.

It did not sink instantly, but nearly 90% of the passengers on it died by not reacting fast enough and escaping to the deck where they had a chance to survive the tilting ship before it went under.

The people who were worried by the sound of the clanking/thumping when the ship first encountered issues mostly survived, and anyone who dithered (including just by trying to get dressed before running to the deck) died, trapped when the hallways and stairways went vertical or filled up with water.

A large number of the people who survived were naked or in their underwear, or were strong young men who could still climb and force their way out, after leaving behind their loved ones.