Shocking footage has emerged of the moments before disaster struck a snorkelling boat in Bali, leaving one Australian dead and two others seriously injured.
Anna Maree Blight, 39, died when the Sea Dragon 2 capsized while sailing between the port of Sanur, south Bali, and the Manta Point snorkel and dive site near Penida Island.
Brisbane couple Gabriel Hijniakoff and Cintamani Warrington suffered severe burns in the accident which happened about 8.30am local time last Friday.
The boat, which was carrying 13 tourists of which 11 were Australians, flipped when it was hit by two large waves, with nobody in the video wearing a lifejacket.Â
In an astonishing video shown on Dutch public service broadcaster NOS, a woman was heard saying: ‘It’s so wavy, I’m getting nervous. Oh my God.’
‘I’ve never seen this in my life,’ she said.
Another woman was seen grabbing onto the side of the boat as the huge waves slammed onto the vessel, causing the others to scream out in horror.
When the person filming started recording again, a boat that had rushed to help is seen throwing a lifebuoy ring into the roiling sea to save the stranded passengers sitting on top of the capsized vessel.
The same woman who was speaking previously thanked the rescuers before her camera panned to a man and woman floating in the water, desperately grabbing onto what appeared to be part of the boat that broke off.
She then assured a woman looking for her husband that ‘he is here, your husband is here’.Â
As the video ended on a beach, the woman spoke in Dutch with a shocked tone, saying ‘We washed up on this beach. This is the famous Nusa Penida beach.’
Her camera then filmed shocked survivors sitting on the sand, comforting each other and crying.Â
Olivia Hijniakoff has set up a fundraiser to help get her brother-in-law Gabriel Hijniakoff and his wife Cintamani Warrington back to Australia from Bali for urgent medical treatment.
She wrote on the GoFundMe they have lost all of their personal travel documents and important belongings.
‘Both were left stranded on the boat for an extended period along (with) other passengers and did not receive timely medical attention or transfers …
‘Local reports (of what happened) have been inaccurate and down played by initial reports through local authorities,’ Ms Hijniakoff said.Â
A man and woman are pictured desperately grabbing onto what appears to be part of the boat that broke off
A fundraiser has been set up to help get her Gabriel Hijniakoff (left) and his wife Cintamani Warrington (right) back to Australia from Bali
Melbourne executive Anna Marie Blight (pictured), 39, lost her life in the capsizing event
‘What we do know is that Gabriel and Tam were involved in a serious accident, resulting in sustaining serious injuries.
‘The gravity of such events and injuries unfortunately do sustain long term effects and further treatment.’
She said Ms Warrington’s injuries ‘are particularly severe, as she has sustained extensive chemical burns … to a large portion of her body’ and requires urgent surgery.
‘Unfortunately, she is unable to speak due to the pain and her condition remains critical,’ Ms Hijniakoff wrote.Â
She said her brother-in-law had also ‘sustained significant injuries and they were only able to begin medical treatment nearly 24 hours after the incident’.Â
Ms Hijniakoff said she had set up the fundraiser, which had raised more than $22,000 by early on Monday afternoon, because ‘insurance only covers so much when it comes to international medical bills’.
The couple is going to need ‘further medical treatment and outpatient appointments once they return home’, she said.Â
The fundraiser will also help with the cost of flights, emergency passports, the replacement of belongings, psychological support and the loss of income as they recover from their injuries.Â
Australian tourists, and Sea Dragon 2’s two local crew, spent more than an hour clinging to the capsized vessel before being rescued on Friday
Melbourne nurse Stephanie, 27, said she made the same trip on the Sea Dragon 2 one day before the tragedy
She alleged the company did not offer life jackets to passengers on board despite the strong currents, and also raised concerns over the lack of pre-departure safety demonstrations.
‘When we reached the snorkelling spots, they showed us where to go but then pointed a couple of metres away and warned us that it was extremely dangerous for us to swim there,’ Stephanie told the Herald Sun.
She said the currents appeared to be pulling water towards sharp rocks and cliff faces.
‘There were absolutely no safety procedures other than “follow them”. We were never even offered life jackets or shown where they were,’ Stephanie said.