California Boat Fire: Death Toll Climbs to 25, at Least 9 Still Missing

The death toll of a California boat fire has risen to 25 after Coast Guard officials confirmed that the bodies of more than two dozen people aboard the 75-foot vessel named Conception were located on the ocean floor. Another nine people remain missing, with five crew members having been rescued from the water after the fire broke out early Monday morning off Santa Cruz Island.

“You just need to keep in mind that the numbers may change slightly as the coroner examines the remains,” Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Matthew Kroll told NBC News via text message.

An update, which will provide further information, is expected to be held at 10 a.m. local time at the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Headquarters, according to the Santa Barbara County Fire-Public Information Officer.

Operated by Truth Aquatics out of Santa Barbara, the Conception had embarked on a three-day diving excursion to San Miguel, Santa Rosa, Santa Cruz, Anacapa, and Santa Barbara Islands and was set to return Monday afternoon when the fire broke out just before 3:30 a.m. Of the 39 people onboard, 34 were sleeping below deck at the time.

The Ventura County Fire Department confirmed that it responded to a boat in distress at 3:30 a.m. and arrived to find the vessel fully engulfed in flames.

Due to the fire continuing to re-flash, rescue crews were unable to board the ship, according to U.S. Coast Guard Senior Chief Aaron Bemis, who spoke to CNN.

“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,” he told the outlet. “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, at the time said they were preparing for the possibility of a mass casualty incident.

According to Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown, the timing of the fire combined with the ship’s location roughly 20 yards offshore contributed to the tragedy.

“To be in a remote location, have a fire that occurs, have limited if any firefighting capability that could address and then to have all of a sudden a fire that spreads very, very rapidly, you couldn’t ask for a worse situation,” he said.

The names of the victims are being withheld pending notification of kin, Santa Barbara County confirmed.