Divers were to go to work Monday hoping to find the last body _ Corinne Schillings, 26, of Alexandria, Va. On Sunday, divers found the bodies of her intended husband, Andrew Roccella, 26, and 6-year-old Daniel Bentrem, of Harrisonburg, Va.
The discovery of the two bodies ``will allow the families to have their grieving times, their funerals. Hopefully that's what we've achieved,'' Fire Chief William Goodwin said.
The Seaport Taxi flipped over March 6 in a sudden thunderstorm with wind gusts up to 55 miles per hour, sending all 25 people on board into chilly, choppy water. Two victims died and three were declared missing.
Sonar equipment detected the two bodies Sunday. An 8-pound robotic camera that swims through the water took video to confirm the discovery, Goodwin said.
The bodies were found ``a couple hundred feet'' from where the survivors were rescued, at the bottom of a 60-foot-deep shipping channel that has been closed to traffic during the search, Goodwin said.
Bob Christ, the owner of Seatrepid, a Pottstown, Pa.-based marine engineering firm that owns the camera, has said the machine saves divers from searching every object picked up by sonar.
Divers went into the water nearly 30 times before recovering the bodies, struggling with cold and murky water and a lack of visibility at the bottom of the harbor. Other promising targets ended up being tree stumps, lumber and mounds of dirt, instead of the missing passengers.
``The weather was not cooperating, but it hasn't the whole time,'' Goodwin said, adding that the wind worked against crews on Sunday.
During the accident, strong gusts flipped the boat as the captain attempted to steer it to shore after receiving a radio warning of the storm from the Living Classrooms Foundation, which operates the Seaport Taxi fleet. There were life jackets on board for everyone, but passengers are not required to wear them.
Crews identified the roof on the bottom of the harbor on Friday, but have yet to raise it, saying their priority was finding the missing passengers. After retrieving the roof, it will be turned over to the National Transportation Safety Board for its investigation of the accident.
Related:
- Baltimore Water Taxi Searchers Find Only Debris
- Sub Finds Objects Near Capsized Maryland Water Taxi
- Haunting Memory For Baltimore Water Taxi Survivor
- Witnesses Probed in Baltimore Water Taxi Capsizing
- Maryland Rescue Crews Map Baltimore Harbor for Recovery
- 3 Still Missing From Baltimore Water Taxi
- Two Dead After Pontoon Boat Capsizes
