The accepted view of the battle (based on German damage descriptions) is that the majority of "Sydney"s personnel were killed during the battle, with the rest dying when the cruiser sank. The Defence Science and Technology Organisation used Mearns' shipwreck footage for a technical analysis of the damage to "Sydney", which showed it to be consistent with German accounts. The analysis predicted that up to 70% of those aboard were killed during the battle, either directly, from wounds, or by inhaling smoke and toxic gas. Mearns estimated that once the bow was lost, the rest of the cruiser's hull would have remained afloat for, at most, two minutes, and anyone still remaining aboard would have been killed as the ship sank. The Cole Report stated that "Sydney"s seakeeping ability would have rapidly deteriorated, hampering any evacuation efforts. Open watertight doors show that some attempt to abandon ship was made. However, the presence of all but two of the ship's boats in the nearby debris field, plus indications that the davits for the two missing boats were shot away during the battle, led Mearns to believe that evacuation was attempted after the bow snapped off, but there was not enough time or seaworthy boats to do so.