Answer: b. were mostly young men but women, children and the elderly stood little chance.
Explanation:
The passage says that the people who survived were men in the prime of their life. Humans are considered to be at the prime of their life when they are young which means that it was mostly young men who survived.
A conclusion that could be drawn is that these young men used their strength to force their selves into the life boats and the elderly, women and children who were not as strong, were simply pushed aside.