Truck trailer floats in rough seas after falling off ferry

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• published: 18 Jul 2016
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The moment a truck trailer bobbed in the ocean after ploughing through rail has been caught on camera The moment a frozen food truck weighing 60 tonnes slides into the sea from a ferry battered by wild weather and 8 metre waves A 60tonne frozen food truck has sunk in New Zealand's Cook Strait The truck slid off a ferry during a morning crossing in eight metre swells A witness said the truck slid overboard when a huge wave hit the boat It snapped its restraining chains and smashed through a barrier A 60 tonne truck smashed through the railings and plunged into the sea during a ferry crossing on Monday. The chains securing the truck snapped and it slid overboard as the Bluebridge Ferry was battered by eight metre waves during a crossing of New Zealand's notorious Cook Strait. The truck was carrying two trailer loads of frozen food between New Zealand’s North and South Islands, Stuff.co.nz reported. The 60tonne frozen food truck slid overboard and plunged into New Zealand's Cook Strait Witness Maya Captijn told Stuff.co.nz: ‘We saw the chains snap and then the truck and trailer started to slide. It hit the rail and then the trailer tipped over, taking the truck with it. ‘It was quite scary, actually. My girls were panicking and crying. ‘We were ordered back inside and not allowed to go back out.’ Jordan Matchitt, 26, said passengers were screaming as the boat reeled in heavy seas and the truck rolled overboard. He told the NZ Herald: ‘All of a sudden, when we started turning, one big wave hit us side on, then we heard a big snap, looked back, and the truck had started to move and had slid toward the barrier. ‘It went back down to the other side of the waves, then slid back, hit another wave, then the trailer went off through the barrier, and it ripped the other trailer and truck off and snapped the second chain.’ Guards inspect the railings of the Bluebridge Ferry after it completed the crossing and moored in Wellington. The truck smashed through the side rail and toppled overboard The ferry continued its 8am crossing but would not be sailing again until next week, Bluebridge said. The Cook Strait is a notorious stretch of water between the city of Wellington, in the North Island, and the town of Picton, in the South Island. It is one of the roughest stretches of water in the world. It is also one of the major transport routes in New Zealand and frequently sailed by passenger and cargo ferries. The Bluebridge Ferry, pictured after the crossing at its moorings in Wellington, would not sail again until next week.