Companies charged in oceanliner accident

SAINT-NAZAIRE, France --Two companies and eight people went on trial Monday in western France on charges of manslaughter and involuntary injury for a 2003 accident on the world's largest oceanliner, the Queen Mary 2.

Fifteen people died and 29 were injured when a walkway collapsed in November 2003 during visitors day at the shipyard in Saint-Nazaire, five weeks before the ship's maiden voyage. In 2005, another person died of injuries sustained in the accident.

The company that built the oceanliner, Chantiers de l'Atlantique -- bought in 2006 by Norway's Aker Yards -- and the company that built the walkway that allowed visitors to pass from the dock to the vessel, Endel, were both named as suspects in the trial in Saint-Nazaire.

The companies and eight people on trial, employees of Endel and of the building sites, are charged with manslaughter and involuntary injury.

If convicted, the individuals face up to 3 years in prison and 45,000 euros ($63,600) in fines. The companies, which have denied responsibility for the accident, would face much larger fines.

The trial is expected to last through Oct. 23.

The accident had no long-term consequences for the 1,132-foot liner, currently operated by Cunard Line.