Welp... It looks like part of the reason why the ferry fell on its side was because the first sailor
turned the autopilot off in a region where even seasoned captains keep it on and tried to guide the heavy, top-loaded ferry around whirlpools between the tiny islands the ferry wasn't supposed to go through anyways, and accidentally turned it so fast that the improperly secured cars and containers slid to the side (because he bumped into a rock or something and was startled), knocking the ship over and causing water to seep in.
The ship would have sunk much slower if the ship wasn't knocked over.And more reasons why the casualties were so high include the fact that the SOS button didn't work, the first sailor figured out that it didn't work and called the water traffic control that was further from the ship, the WTC contacted the closer WTC nearly 10 minutes later, the captain hightailed out of the boat for no reason, the public announcement system stopped working
after the sailors told the passengers to 'stay put for now' but before they could confirm that the ship was unsalvagable, the fact that most of the passengers were high school students that were prone to listening to authority, that they were on the 4th floor of the ship (instead of the 3rd or 2nd), ... Sufficient lifeboats were onboard, but they were too old and didn't deploy. Besides, they were quickly suspended multiple meters above the surface.
The only reason some students actually lived is because they decided to try to escape anyways, instead of trusting the announcement. A tragic part of this accident is that because the ship was in cellular signal range, the parents of the children received multiple messages while the ship was sinking.
Friggin normal accidents. They only happen when a bunch of mistakes synergize with each other. Human error plus mechanical error is the recipe for death.