More than 30 people are missing and feared dead after a 75-foot dive boat named Conception caught fire off the Southern California coast early Monday morning. According to the Ventura County Fire Department, five people have been rescued and at least 34 remain missing, with fatalities confirmed.
“We did rescue five people from the water,” Capt. Brian McGrath told the Los Angeles Times. “The main body of fire has been extinguished with a few hot spots still remaining.”
Videos by PopCulture.com
“We don’t have a confirmed number of souls that were supposed to be on board that boat,” McGrath added. “We do have fatalities aboard, but we do not know the numbers here yet.”
#CoastInc: @VCFD responded to boat fire off the north side of Santa Cruz Island at approximately 3:28am. @USCG helping support rescue operations for people aboard a dive boat. #ChannelIslands @USCGLosAngeles @CountyVentura @SBCOUNTYFIRE pic.twitter.com/DwoPGfBjtA
— VCFD PIO (@VCFD_PIO) September 2, 2019
The fire department responded to a boat in distress off Santa Cruz Island at around 3:30 a.m. on Monday, Sept. 2. When they arrived at the scene, the vessel was fully engulfed in flames.
Speaking to CNN, U.S. Coast Guard Senior Chief Aaron Bemis said that the Coast Guard was unable to board the boat because the fire continued to re-flash.
“Multiple coast guard and local Ventura County Fire Department assets on scene, but we’re not able to yet breach the hull and see if there’s any survivors at this point,” Bemis said. “”It keeps being extinguished and re-flashing, possibly due to the amount of fuel on board. Unsure why, but it’s consistently being put out and re-flashing.”
“I’m unaware of any survivors at this time, and I’m also no confirmed casualties at this time. It’s too early to tell. It’s a 75-foot commercial dive vessel that reportedly had 39 people on board. The five crew members able to disembark because they were in the main cabin. The 34 passengers were below decks,” he added. “The report we got was they were trapped by the fire. The fire was so intense that even after it was put out, we’re not able to actually embark the vessel and, you know, look for survivors at this point. It’s still ongoing.”
Erik Raney, public information officer with the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s coroner office, said they are preparing for the possibility of a mass casualty incident.
The fire comes after the Conception had set out from Santa Barbara on Saturday for a three-day diving excursion. The vessel and those onboard were set to visit San Miguel, Santa Rosa, Santa Cruz, Anacapa, and Santa Barbara Islands before returning Monday afternoon.
