In Search of Souls (Inside the MV St. Thomas Aquinas- Bodies Recovery Operation) 

At 6:30 they raise my brother up! His name was Timothy Higgins and he was the greatest person I ever met! These guys rescued his body and gave my family a chance to mourn!

I have done body retrieval on search and rescue. The first time it scared me to death. No one warned me about a body falling apart when you reach out to move it. My diver partner saw my breathing rapidly speed up and signaled to me ti ask if I was ok. I was, but it was hard and a shock to me. Nothing can prepare you for this. I will never forget the experience. It is something that scares you to death , but at the same time it teaches you humiliation and that we are all important and all very fragile. It becomes a respectful process because in the end you forget about nationality, religion, color, sex gender. You are handling a person that deserves your gentle touch and respect.

The shots of the bodies ascending to the surface were strangely beautiful. Like they were being set free, and were finally going home.

The tiny jellyfishes swimming at the end gave the impression of finally free souls. May all rest in peace and many blessing to the brave team in this mission.

The scariest environment imaginable full of decayed corpses and these guys have the courage and empathy to go down there and retrieve people so they’re not just corpses - they’re loved ones returned home. I can’t put in words what I think of these guys. 100, 1000 times the men I’ll ever be.

My brother was one the casualty of the MV Princess tragedy ,he was recovered by guys like you.Thanks and much respect to all of you.

For anyone afraid of watching this video - it is not creepy nor gore. The very few images we have from the victims were shot with the utmost respect. It is beautiful, sad and yet inspiring. God bless those divers and the families who lost their loved ones!

When I was 7 years old, my 5 year old sister passed away in an accidental drowning while we were swimming. It was one of the hardest things I ever had to witness. But thanks to the brave men and women who recovered her body, we were able to say goodbye and have a funeral for her. I was 22 when I finally came to peace with it all. Thank you for what you do and the risks you take. You have no idea how much that closure means. I can sit by her grave and reminisce on happy childhood memories, all because of a few good people willing to put their lives on the line for families they don’t know. RIP the souls lost in this tragedy.

This doesn’t feel disrespectful or gory at all, if anything you really get a sense that those bodies are being set free. Quite peaceful and beautiful. Hats off to all of the divers it takes a special person to do what they do.

Seeing that photo album with some poor fellow's wife smiling up from the bottom of the ocean was gut wrenching. Hope they got their sailor back.

6:47 It’s touching to see the deceased person ascend after being finally freed. Bless the divers for doing this intensely difficult job which helps to give the families closure.

A lot of people don't understand , the risk that these guys take , to help bring loved ones back for a proper funeral. They risk their own lives , to not only help those families who lost someone , but they help the people that passed away , get the burial that they deserve. You can't measure that level of selflessness. Bravo guys!

That bit at 4:58 got me. Seeing personal pictures and stuff like that, even though I don’t know who made it or anything was really sad. RIP to those lost in this shipwreck.

I know some people take issue with seeing deceased humans on video but I think this stuff needs to be shown, it's a reminder of how precious life is, how quickly it can be taken away and how many people are hurt by the loss of one human, a moment where race, religion, ethnicity, sex, creed doesn't matter, they are a human, a human life that was lost tragically before they could live their full life, it still amazes me that race is an issue in our world and we can't just simply be humans, my condolences to the families, RIP.

My brother died in this shipwreck, bless these divers for retrieving these bodies

as a certified diver myself, these brave men and women are simply built differently. one of my instructors is a body recovery diver and he said it changes you forever but that it’s both the most rewarding and the most heartbreaking thing he’s ever done. they have a whole other kind of dedication to their craft and duty to others and i have nothing but the utmost respect for them.

I heard in some cultures jellyfish are the souls of the sailors lost at sea throughout history. I like to think they were seeing their brothers off at the end. This was a very beautiful

Everyone of those bodies has a story, a family and memories about them. May they rest in peace. Let us not forget them.

I’ve always worked with dead bodies, I was a morgue assistant and now I’m working in being a forensic pathologist, I’ve seen my fair share of horrors, but water deaths always felt different, knowing so many people who drown are never recovered and they’re families never know where they’re loved ones are

Having worked @ sea 20+ yrs, I thought that I had thick skin and there would be very little that could move me the way these selfless divers gave of themselves in an extremely hazardous environment to help provide comfort to other families. It shook me to my very core and with tears streaming, I can say unashamedly, THANK YOU to the divers here. There are very few who would or could serve others in this fashion.

Thanks for not cutting out the parts of the clips where the bodies are actually set free. I know a lot of people might despise the fact that it's on RU-vid but I think it's important to know and get a feel of what goes on behind the scenes of such disaster recovery operations and how traumatic of an experience it can be for the divers. We read/watch the news and take it for granted that, "Oh, bodies recovered from XYZ site, may their souls RIP", but there's so much more to it than what's conveyed by a newspaper or a news channel. Mad respect to you folks for bringing solace to so many families by getting back their loved ones for a proper farewell.

Incredible work. I sometimes think of the Korean civilian who opted to dive and bring back as many bodies of deceased students as he could after the Korean ferry disaster. It was a horribly corrupt episode in Korean political history and the fact that nobody could do the recovery work but this bloke...he wasn't trained for the psychological impact and committed suicide not long afterwards, having spoken openly about how what he saw and went through ruined his life. All credit goes to our unsung heroes in life who remain humble yet never get the dignity, gratitude and public acknowledgement they deserve.

I was a rescue diver for 8 years and this video reminded me why I loved it so much. Yes its tough, but to give someone the opportunity to say goodbye to their loved ones is priceless.

I'm a wreck and rescue diver and I have a huge amount of respect for the people who performed this recovery operation. The scene with all the lines and wires with the one diver with scissors in hand... that had me gasp for air. If you dive yourself, you know why.

I am a professional sailor and sometimes it feels like our souls don't matter at all. Thank you for retrieving the bodies, it brings some peace to me to know there are some who care.

Keeping your cool during a silt black out while tangled in ropes and cables deep inside a ship with dead bodies.Takes nerves of steel.Very brave.Amazing professional's,.Very few people Would put their hand up for this...

The doll at 4:51 along with the scrapbook killed me. The guy going up to the surface was absolutely beautiful

There's such a loving gentleness to this. The way they're carefully guided out of the wreck and sent surface bound seemed so peaceful that I didn't quite realize I wasn't looking at one of the divers until I noticed the lack of scuba gear. Combined with the music, it's a tearjerking ascension. Seeing the weights and ropes that had to be used really drives home how physically hard this incredible work must be on top of the psychological toll. Massive respect.

I've always had a deep fear of drowning, either in a sinking ship, car, or even a plane. These divers are very brave people for going into those tangled wrecks with all that gear where they could easily get lines fouled. Thank you for what you do.

Normally in a video filled with actual corpses, you get an unnerving sense of dread and massive discomfort. Not so for this video. Instead, I felt a strange sense of peace and love present throughout this video. I admire the careful process these divers took and the respect that they treated the bodies with that were once filled with life. It is a sad outcome for the lost souls, but a beautiful fact that their bodies were recovered for the families to get a proper goodbye and have total closure. I admire videos that have strong merit such as this.

As an aspiring mortician, i really admire this type of work. It’s always important to bring closure to family and friends. Keep up the amazing work💛

Thank you. It's somehow so beautiful to see the lost finally racing for the light, & the surface. You made me cry. Thank you for the hard work & the incredibly dignified & respectful filming of such a tough subject. 🙏💚🌟

I have found deceased bodies in my line of work purely by accident and its a gut wrenching experience. These brave divers have my utmost respect for this emotionally draining job.

Respect to Bernil Gastrado for engineering this dive . He and others have suffered from PTSD from this as Nightmares from the faces of the Dead. Prayers for both the victims and recovery team .

This really is done in a beautiful, respectful way. When they freed the bodies, they floated to the surface as if they were finally seen and released from the wreck, back to the world, to their families. ❤

This is truly haunting, these divers are very special people full of both courage and empathy.

The very first thing I noticed about this film was that it was made with so much care, attention, and dignity to all concerned. It wasn’t at all frightening or uncomfortable as I thought it might be. In fact, it was quite the opposite. The overall feeling I got from it was man’s humanity to man. That in the end we will take care of each other. It’s really a film of love. It was beautifully recorded and edited with the highest respect for the deceased and their families. And really taught us just how traumatic and dangerous this job can be for the divers. They are brave souls and so selfless to do this kind of recovery, and in such a dangerous environment. So thank you to all divers and support staff that risked life and limb to bring these people home. And to the film makers thank you for focusing on the love we have for each other as fellow human beings. Too many film makers these days focus on the fear and morbidity of death, and miss the opportunity to teach us about life. This film is about life and how we treat each other when faced with tragedy and eventually of death.

I have to admit I was a bit uncomfortable when I first clicked on this video because I wasn’t sure what I was about to see, but this video was actually very sad and very beautiful at the same time!! Those divers deserve medals for having the strength and courage to dive down and set those poor lost souls free. If only the titanic had sank in shallower waters at a time when modern diving was a normal thing, many more bodies could have been recovered from her too.

Thank you for bringing them home. I know they aren't in their bodies anymore but it's such an important part of the grieving process for the family and loved ones to have the remains. You're doing great work ❤️

Randomly stumbled upon this looking for a repair video on a car, didnt know this happened never heard of it. I stopped everything and paid attention. These humans were so kind to put their selves in the most unlivable environment possible to give closure to the families of these victim. Cheers to all of these divers and what you did . Thank you for your kindness. Thank yiu for your humanity. I needed to see this.

every one of the people still in that ship were once somebody’s baby. and these men brought them home. so much respect.

Sadly it’s not uncommon for some divers to have a nervous breakdown doing this work. Bless you everyone involved. Your good men.

R.I.P massive respect to the team that recovered these loved ones.

That was so hard to watch but was just so absolutely beautifully made that I couldn't help but continue to watch. They took so much care and dedication to respect the bodies and their families.

I'm a seasonedoffshore diver, with extensive experience of wreck diving. I've been in a few challenging situations but can easily say i do not have the rare personal qualities and mindset to be able to do this kind of work. These divers are exceptional people, skilled and driven by the need to facilitate a proper burial and resting place to the poor souls lost.

Not only am I absolutely petrified of going into deep water/underwater, the thought of not only being deep under water but also INSIDE a sunken ship, is straight out of my terrors. It just highlights the bravery and risk taken every single dive. It is truly heroism. God rest their souls.

Thanks to all recovery diver teams like this one. I lost my uncle at Sea off the coast of Newfoundland over 10 years ago and still no sign of his body. It’s tough

6:50 while that body was being lifted back up it gave me the impression of being alive..as if he had finally found peace! finally reaching the skies 🙌

I think the music for this makes you feel like you are in a holy place. It's like the divers are saying, " Come with me my friend, I will take you home where you belong. " Thank you sto all the recovery crew members. You are very special people.

The song playing in the background is “God Be With You ‘Till We Meet Again”, one of my favorite hymns. These are the lyrics: 1. God be with you till we meet again; By his counsels guide, uphold you; With his sheep securely fold you. God be with you till we meet again. [Chorus] Till we meet, till we meet, Till we meet at Jesus’ feet, Till we meet, till we meet, God be with you till we meet again. 2. God be with you till we meet again; When life’s perils thick confound you, Put his arms unfailing round you. God be with you till we meet again. 3. God be with you till we meet again; Keep love’s banner floating o’er you; Smite death’s threat’ning wave before you. God be with you till we meet again.

I was crying as I watched this, I can only imagine the fear and heart break these poor soals had to feel, and not to mention the people who had to go get the bodies. God bless everyone. Stay safe

I just want to say that you managed to put this together with great respect to those lost, their loved ones and the men who put their own lives on the line to bring peace and closure to the suffering. You managed to produce a piece that was neither gory or sensationalist, was very educational about the process of recovery and strangely beautiful too. The choice of music was perfect also. It will stay with me for a while. God Bless you all, you are truly among the very best of men.

4:56 That photo album Mrs. Mercado made for her husband was heart breaking to see. I’m sure they retrieved it and brought it back to its rightful owner ♥️ I can’t imagine what she must have felt. This is is heartbreaking

6:51 That’s a person. A person with hopes and dreams and emotions, lifeless. Family in pain. Stuck in water helplessly dying and now finally at peace. That person was once living and breathing and talking like all of us. God bless these divers

All those who take part in recovering the bodies of those lost at sea are true heroes in my eyes. Navigating a sunken ship in poor visibility to look for those lost at sea & help return them to their loved ones must be one of the most emotional & physically stressful jobs one could have. May God surround those who lost their lives in this tragic incident with his love & give strength to their families 🙏

Thank you. Thank you on behalf of the victims. Thank you on behalf of the survivors. Thank you, on behalf of the families of those lost at sea.

2:43 I read this somewhere “Every broken clock is telling you when it passed away” this hits different

Thank you for all of your efforts. I am one of the crew(deck cadet that time) and survivor of that tragic accident. Its almost a decade but the memories are still vivid.

Very emotional watch. Everyone involved should be considered with the utmost regard. Truly brave and honourable people.

We need to be thankful for the men/women who help recover the people who have passed away.

What a beautiful homage to the divers and the fallen. These are true men that have done such tremendous honor to those that lost their lives. I salute you all and commend you for taking it upon yourselves to complete such a task. I cannot begin to fathom the emotions involved. Well done good sirs.

The person who recorded and edited this is extremely thoughtful of the perished souls, the loved ones left behind, and also has an endless amount of empathy in regards to show just enough so we can understand what’s going on but not a lot to make it not respectable. Thank you to those who helped bring those who perished home and give closure to their loved ones. 🙏

Thank you guys, this is probably one of the hardest things I have ever watched and to see you guys having the guts, courage and strength the go down there where so many people would be scared out of their minds and flee, and do what you did. That’s what all of humanity needs are people like these divers

6:51 watching this person ascend is indescribable.

It takes a special type of brave to do what you guys did. There are no words to say thank you adequately.

At 6:51, when that body ascended, it just looked like someone who’d finally been released… and was going home. I was honestly wincing the entire time they were in those tight quarters, watching those loose wires and such getting so close to those manifolds. I mean these guys know what they’re doing and they’re watching each other’s backs I’m sure.. but it’s still makes me nervous. What a seriously great bunch of divers here. Bringing this ships crew back to their families. You guys are angels.

These kinds of people have such great, huge courage and kindness I don't think many on this planet can even fathom.

Such a heart wrenching video. Thank you to all those who risk their own lives in an attempt to recover the victims of sea disasters so that the families can have closure 🙏

My neighbour does this for the Canadian military he told me a story a while back where he lead a team of divers and recovered something like 230 plane crash victims in peggys cove Halifax in the late 90’s. People like you are truly special people. Thank you for all that you do and Stay safe out there

The song played throughout is the hymn, "God be with you till we meet again" I have never heard it used in such a tragic and sad scenario before... It does bring a great amount of hope and emotion to this video, and helps to remind you of just how short life is, and to always be thankful. Much love to all

I will forever see in my mind the person at 5:30 the way they just float up it is rough to see, these bodies, hard to fathom that they are literally real, just watching the video is chilling, I can’t imagine being one of these divers

Thank you for bringing them home. I hope the peace you find from this outweighs the trauma of finding them. You are incredible people.

Most of those things floating are pieces of skin,it’s not just to recover but you have to be careful cos the body can easily break apart so you have to be a diver/a coroner/a morgue attendant all in one so each family can have the complete body of their baby/babies. This video touched me deeply and it makes me want to live a life where I get to bring some sort of comfort to another person cos when we die,even if we die with people,we float up alone,we go up alone,even if we come into the world with a twin or siblings,we die alone. Death is cold and lonely not to talk of dying in a horrifying way,may God heal everyone who has had to deal with tragedy. I have experienced loss and I cannot explain the depth of pain and despair you feel,u literally want to cut your heart out. It’s not the fact that they are gone,I can only rem the way my foster mum used to call my name,I can’t remember her voice anymore. It still hurts till now even doe she died about 8/9yrs ago.

This is probably one of the kindest acts of humanity I have come across. It’s heartbreaking and saving all at once. To everyone lost, I will remember you and to the men and women who went down to bring them home … you are the reason we have yet to throw our collective hands up. Thank you

I salute these men for the job they did...takes a lot of calm and courage to do this sort of thing. I'm sure they suffer from PTSD because of it. My hats off to you.

I lost my brother in the Chesapeake Bay, Jan 26, 1994. He jumped in the water from a supply launch to rescue a Greek sailor who had fallen off a ladder. The sailor was boarding from the launch to the coal collier as it was anchored. Brother reached the sailor but no one on the ship or the launch could reach them. The water temp was 35f and they soon both slipped under. Their bodies were never recovered. Fair winds and Following seas

Strangely comforting to see the recovered bodies rise to the surface--almost like a resurrection or a rapture... Thank you all for this selfless service!

This shows how fragile life is and how it can all change in a split second. So brave of all those involved to help bring those lost souls back. True heroes x

Maraming salamat po sainyo! May God bless you always! Snappy salute

The strength and balls it would take to do this is beyond incredible, thank you for doing this.

This was, in a weird way beautiful. To see them finally escape the dark, cold, deep water and be «set free». I think that is a very important part of their souls (if you believe in that) and family making peace with what happened.

The efforts of the divers to recover the bodies was astounding. I really respect and value that. This was tastefully documented there was nothing objectionable shown. A good effort all around.

I come back to this video every couple months to pay my respect to these people and the divers. Bless you. ❤

These divers should be commended for the vital work they do. Working together in difficult circumstances and environments my heart goes out to you guys 🙏♥️

I dont think you could really convey just how dangerous this kind of recovery is, it is THE most hazardous thing a diver can do, getting disorientated, getting your aqualung snagged or damaging your airline in the chaotic unpredictability of your surroundings are all deadly scenarios every rescue diver is fully aware that they are facing when they dip below the surface. It takes a special kind of courage and determination to face this for the sake of reuniting the bereaved with their lost loved ones, I have nothing but THE biggest respect for these extraordinary people.

6:47 was so beautiful but sad. It was like setting a lost soul free. Recovery divers are amazingly brave and strong, may they all be safe and return home to their families after every dive 💜

Thank you the brave men and women who recover bodies from the worst disasters. Without them families could never find solace.

Those poor people and their families. Thank you for what you've done for them and others.

Those poor people who lost their lives in that tragedy, my heart goes out to them and their loved ones. What a brave and loving act for these rescuers to find them so they can be taken home. x

this is very educational, despite how dark it was, I definitely have grown to respect people who do this as a job. One can always decide to just leave the bodies there and make that ship their grave, but these people have decided to make it their job to return these body to their loved ones. I'm pretty sure that this video was recommended after I started it to watch more videos about the Sewol tragedy in 2014, and I can't imagine having to pluck about 300 plus bodies of young teenagers out. always goes to show to trust instinct during any form of tragedy.

I'm glad to see people caring about even the dead. It was relieving to see them be set free. Thank you for setting them free.

Rescue divers are some of the most special people in the world. The work you do is dangerous, and traumatizing at the same time. Yet you do it and help bring some light in moments of tragedy.

This reminds me of the documentary about the Sewol tragedy. The divers from that incident found 48 students crammed into one room. The recovery team talked about how they had to navigate through murky waters and basically had to "feel" for the corpses.

At first I was terrified that this video was some clickbait, where people want to get money from many views with morbid pictures, but within the first seconds I realized that I was completely wrong. Your footage touched me so much. And it made me something realize: In a world where people can't get enough of shocking videos and stories with much violence and loss and catastrophes, let's not forget that we are talking about human lives. You handled everything and everybody so respectfully. I can't express how much I respect and appreciate what you do. Thank you from the bottom from my heart and may god bless you for your dedication and heroism. My prayers go out to the victims of this terrible tragedy and their beloved ones.

May the souls recovered Rest In Peace. Thank you to all rescue divers. You do amazing work giving families closure and freeing lost souls from torment.

oh hey, the brother of my grandfather is mentioned here .. Doc Boy Amores! both him and my grandfather were divers - and were very adamant with the maintenance of the cleanliness of the ocean. both of them taught me and my cousins to clean the beaches and keep them clean. My grandfather died of a heart attack while they were surveying a possible coral reef sanctuary. RIP my lolo Prospero Amores Sr. and to his brother Doc Boy Amores

Those divers have balls of steel! At c.5.40 when the the wires were tangling in the pillar valves, that was scary in the extreme. I was a recreational diver for c15years, and did a few “open” wrecks( ie. where there were swim throughs, or clearly defined exits) but never wished or had the guts to do any wreck penetration! For these divers all this on top of body recovery, well absolutely hats off to you all🙏🙏🙏

I can't imagine how difficult this must have been both physically and emotionally. I know the family of the victims must truly appreciate the herculean efforts to retrieve the bodies of their loved ones. Thank you for doing this despite the difficulties.

Such a terrible terrible tragedy. My heart goes out to the families of the lost souls and to the survivors. I can't express enough how much gratitude and love to the recovery divers and the teams. To experience such a devastating situation is immeasurable. 🙏🙏🙏💕💕💕

There are 5 people aboard a sub right now that an hour an 45 minutes into their dive is when they lost connection. They have till 5am tomorrow to find these people because by 5am tomorrow they run out of air. They detected banging around the search area so they say that could be them banging from inside the sub. That’s what brought me to this video. Please pray for them & for them to be found safe & sound! Thank you for sharing these people’s story, btw. The ones in your video here. May the families of these loved ones grieve healthy & may the victims rest in peace🙏