‘Underwater’: Tourists speak out on Bali boat disaster that killed Aussie

Passengers on a tour boat that capsized and killed an Aussie woman in Bali have spoken about their harrowing experience.

Passengers on a tour boat that capsized in Bali and tragically ended in Melbourne woman Annie Blight’s death have spoken out about their harrowing experience.

Queensland couple Gabe Hijniakoff and Tam Warrington, who were also passengers on the Sea Dragon 2, candidly told 60 Minutes about their terrifying ordeal.

Mr Hijniakoff said initially, when the waves picked up, he thought he was going to get a bit wet, but within minutes, things became dire.

“I thought we were just going to get a bit wet, um but then as soon as it hit, you’re pretty well underwater,” he said.

News.com.au is not accusing Sea Dragon 2 of any wrongdoing.

The couple both remember the moment they were suddenly underwater. Picture: 60 Minutes

Holding back tears, Ms Warrington said she can remember reaching for her handbag because she knew she was about to get wet.

“We were underwater before I even reached it,” she said

Once they were underwater, Mr Hijniakoff said he immediately began to smell fuel, and Ms Warrington recalls coming up for air and hearing him scream for her.

“I had ended up quite far away from each other, and the first thing I remember is him screaming my name, um, in a real like panic that I’d never heard from him before,” she said.

Mr Hijniakoff said for a second he feared he’d lost her.

“He really did snap into like, ‘Let’s, let’s get out’. He just kept saying, ‘we have to swim out or we’re going to run out of air.” And yeah, I just …”

Mr Hijniakoff said the pair counted to three, and they just swam out, both agreeing they were in survival mode.

She held back tears as she spoke about the ordeal. Picture: 60 Minutes

Australian Anna Blight sadly lost her life. Picture: Cor Cordis

Their horror wasn’t over yet, Ms Warrington said. Once she pulled herself onto the top of the boat, she realised she was injured.

“I realised why I was reacting more harshly than everyone else because I saw the skin kind of from here down, just, slopping off, is the only way I have to describe that. Ah and the burning was intense,” she said.

Ms Warrington didn’t get treatment for several hours and she feared she had third-degree burns because the pain was excruciating.

She didn’t get proper care for her burns until she returned to Australia, where she was told she only had second-degree burns from either engine fuel, or battery acid.

“I did need a surgery to, they called it a debridement, I guess to take off the, the skin that had slopped away and clean. I mean, I was dirty for 24 hours, and they took me into surgery and cleaned up my leg,” she said.

Estonian couple Liisa and Andres Abe were also on the Sea Dragon 2 with their 7-year-old daughter, band as soon as they got on the boat, they began to regret their decision.

The couple exclusively spoke to 60 Minutes and Ms Abe claimed she immediately began to worry when she wasn’t offered a life jacket.

“I asked the life jackets approximately, like five times. And ah at one point, I was so nervous, there was a very small, pink life jacket ah on top of all the other jackets,” she claimed.

“And at one point, I just, I didn’t care, I just took the vest by myself. I just, like grabbed it and I told my daughter that we’re going to put it on.”

The couple feared for their daughter's life. Picture: 60 Minutes

When the boat capsized Ms Abe said she can remember that everything went “completely dark” and she couldn’t find her daughter

“I didn’t see anything. Ah I didn’t see my daughter, nothing,” she said.

“I was in the ocean next to the boat, and I understood that, um, ah, my child is gone. And when I understood that she’s dead, I was actually, I was very calm. I was very calm.”

Ms Abe also couldn’t find her husband and she thought both her daughter and husband were dead.

“I was just thinking like, ‘I hope ah I can die, as soon as possible’. I was just waiting for my death, and I was hoping that it comes really quickly because it was, it was impossible to bear. I was just waiting for my death,” she said.

Ms Abe was reunited with her husband, and then was told her daughter was alive, but was trapped under the hull.

Eventually, their daughter was able to swim out and reunited with her parents, but Ms Abe is still unsure how she managed it, but credits her with being “brave” throughout the ordeal.

“It’s impossible to tell because my daughter, who just got seven years old, had her life jacket on, and with the waves and with the currents, she was able to swim out. And we don’t know how it’s possible,” she said.

“The crew members who were trapped with her underneath the boat told us that she was extremely brave. She didn’t cry for once.

“There was a very small air window, and she started to go up, take the air, and try to swim under. And she did this several and several times.”

His daughter ended up in ICU after the boat horror. Picture: 60 Minutes

She said it is difficult to live a normal life after what happened. Picture: 60 Minutes

Once reunited, the family still had to wait for over an hour to be rescued, and the 7-year-old’s health started going downhill.

“My daughter started to vomit blood, and she said like, ‘It’s, it’s really painful.’ Her, like, ‘My chest is really, really painful,” she said.

Eventually, they were rescued after their “scary as hell” experience, and their daughter was admitted to intensive care with phenomena but has thankfully recovered.

Now, several months later, Ms Abe said that it has been a struggle to rebuild their lives and forget about the tragedy that almost took their daughter.

“It’s difficult to sleep, um it’s difficult to work. It’s difficult to live a normal life. And it’s the same for her also. Like to carry on her daily activities like ah, it has been really tricky,” she said.

“Whereas Mr Abe shared he was also struggling to come to terms with what happened to them as a family.

“As a father, as a husband, my main guilt is I couldn’t do anything in that situation to help my family,” he said.

He said the investigation had now concluded. Picture: 60 Minutes

Police Chief Ida Bagus Putra Sumerta at Nusa Penida told 60 Minutes said that the case was now closed.

“The conclusion of the police investigation is natural causes, so there’s no negligence. One of the engines hit a log in the water, causing the engines to stop, and right about the same time, a big wave hit the boat and flipped the boat,” he said via a translator.

The police chief said the investigation found “wood splinters stuck in the engines” and there was nothing any human could have done.

“Yes. Our investigation concluded that this was caused by nature. It’s not something any human can prevent, so no one will be held liable,” he said.

“We promise we will work very closely with tour operators and all parties to provide briefings and we ask tourists themselves to participate in providing safety for everybody. We hope tourists will pay attention to local regulations.’

“According to our investigation there was a safety briefing and lifejackets were going to be used once they reached the snorkelling location.”

The snorkelling boat — Sea Dragon 2 — was carrying 13 people, including 11 Australians, tragically capsized while travelling to the popular island of Nusa Penida in Bali.

Survivors sitting on the hull of a capsized boat as they wait to be rescued. Picture: Klungkung District Police / AFP

The group was enjoying underwater scenery at around 8.30am local time on Friday, March 21 when their boat was hit by a large wave, throwing a 39-year-old woman overboard.

A second wave then hit the boat, completely tipping it upside down.

Footage shows the terrified group scrambling to sit on the hull of the boat as waves continue to batter them.

Originally published as ‘Underwater’: Tourists speak out on Bali boat disaster that killed Aussie