[GZG Fiction] Seventy Dead after Freighter Accident

	  Seventy Confirmed Dead in Freighter Docking Accident

Weds, Jan 18, 2164
New Albion (INN) - At least seventy people were killed Tuesday after an
Alarishi freighter plowed through the Owens Docking Port and exploded
into a
fiery mass while attempting to rendezvous with the Davis Hazardous
Materials
Station over New Albion.

"The people in the dock never had a chance," said Dana Parr, a dock
loader
who saw the tanker smash to the neighboring docking port.

Chief Alfred Lerchey of the NAC Transportation Authority, said the
number of
dead could rise in the accident that occurred shortly before 3 p.m.,
creating
a cloud of smoke and debris that could be seen from the Tuffley Thrust
Starship Yards, several thousand kilometers away. 

At least three other freighters were burned down to their frames during
the
enormous, hour-long fire. Foam dispensed by firefighters covered all
avenues
in and out of the docking port and layered a white coating over mangled
ships.
The main hull of the station within 100 meters of the docking port was
also
scorched. 

Seventy people have been confirmed dead from the accident. Another
twenty-seven are missing.

Mitzi Zamora, the station's superintendent, said five ships were
involved -
three freighters and two docking tugs. The fire burned much of the soft
metal
on the ships, but investigators hoped to get identification numbers from
the
remaining frame structures. 

"It's a mangled mess," she said. 

All ports on the station are closed for the time being. Ships scheduled
to
use this station are being directed to other facilities for the time
being.
Most ports on the far side of the station should be able to re-open
within
a day or two.

Officials were concerned about the structural integrity of the station.
The
freighter all but took out the entire docking port from the station.
Zamora
said engineers were testing the metal and other parts of its structure. 

"We understand the impact this has on traffic," Zamora said. "This is
the
major docking station for hazardous materials in the system ... We're
doing
everything we can to open the other docking ports." 

The Alarishi government has been contacted about the accident.

Wendy Han, a station worker whose apartment has a view of the docking
port,
was sleeping when she felt a 'crump.' 

"I looked out the port and saw the first bit of fire and explosions for
what seemed like 15 minutes," Han said. "I watched the fire burn away
much
of the docking port. It was a pretty amazing thing - I checked myself
several times to see if I was awake. I don't know how many people were
in
there, but I can't imagine anyone surviving that inferno. It's very
sad."

The NAC Transportation Safety Board has dispatched a team of
investigators.