A photographer swam to the abandoned Costa Concordia cruise liner to take photographs inside the ill-fated ship.
By Megan Mackander
German photographer Jonathan Danko Kielkowski swam 200 metres to the ship and jumped on board to take eerie photographs of the interior.
The images show how the decadent luxury of the 290-metre ship has been reduced to a derelict state, four years to the month after the vessel hit rocks and partially sank off the coast of an Italian island, killing 32 passengers.
The Costa Concordia was floated in 2014 and moved to the port of Genoa, where it will eventually be cannibalised and scrapped, after sinking off the island of Giglio in January 2012.
Intrigued by the idle ship, Kielkowski swam to the ship to capture the aftermath of the tragedy at daybreak.
Watch Ghost Ship- Looking Back at the Costa Concordia below. Post continues after video.
He told German outlet Vice Media it was his second attempt, after being caught by the Coast Guard the first time.
The results of his successful solo photography mission are captivating.
The once glitzy atrium has been reduced to a rundown mess, while the once-packed theatre is almost unrecognisable, the stage covered in debris, the speakers encrusted with coral.
Despite electrical cords hanging from the ceiling and mud-covered surfaces, the decadence of one of the ship's bars is still evident from the emerald green finishings.
Abandoned luggage, wheelchairs, prams and other personal belongings lay wet and strewn along the narrow hallways.
The casino is almost unrecognisable aside from the rusty and muddied poker machines.
Click through the gallery below for the rest of the series.
Costa Concordia remains.
Credits
Photographer: Jonathan Danko Kielkowski
Reporter: Megan Mackander