Four years after the Costa Concordia cruise ship capsized off the Italian coast, stunning images taken by photographer Jonathan Danko Kielkowski give a rare look inside the wreckage.
On Jan 13, 2012, the Costa Concordia struck a submerged rock on its way around the Mediterranean Sea and sank near the island of Giglio. The tragedy claimed the lives of 32 people. Captain Francesco Schettino, who left the ship while it sank, was later found guilty of 32 counts of manslaughter and sentenced to 16 years in prison.
The Costa Concordia wreck was towed to its final resting place in the Italian port of Genoa in July 2014, where it will eventually be dismantled. Photographer Kielkowski, who's based in Germany, swam out to the wreckage in to document the scenes of the abandoned ship's once-buzzing rooms. The images are featured in his new book "Concordia," published by White Press.
"The wrecked Cruise Ship is visible and attracts me like a magnet, so I finally venture to swim across," Kielkowski writes in his book. "Against all odds, I find the shipwreck freely accessible — neither fences nor security personnel! Rather, the doors are open, lights are turned on, no man can be seen—nothing in the way to document…"
Jonathan Danko Kielkowski will be appearing and signing copies of CONCORDIA at the book's launch at the Los Angeles ArtBook Fair Feb. 11-14. For more information and to order the book, go to whitepress.com.