So - if you look closely at the higher res photos - the explosions appear to have been catastrophic. You can see buckling in the aft deck areas - and it appears the roof of the helo hangar is also buckled, below the rear radar dome. Still can’t tell if the line in the hull aft of the missile bay is smoke, or actually a break in the hull. There certainly appears to be creasing of the hull in that area.
it may simply be that this catastrophic explosion resulted in the death of many of the crew - with a significant number caught below deck and killed by the pressure wave and those that survived the initial explosion overtaken by fire and smoke.
I would not be surprised if she broke in two around that creased area.
