Scuba diving boat caught fire and sank off the California coast, with passengers trapped below deck by the roaring blaze, eight people were dead and more than two dozen missing and feared dead. Fire crews in helicopters, small boats and a Coast Guard cutter battled the fierce pre-dawn fire on the 75-foot (23-metre) Conception, which had been on a diving excursion around Santa Cruz Island, just west of Santa Barbara in southern California.
But the blaze and intense heat prevented them from breaching the vessel’s hull to search for survivors before the craft sank, the Coast Guard said. A dense fog further complicated rescue efforts.
“Four victims have been recovered thus far as deceased,” Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown told a news conference. “Rescue and recovery efforts on the scene have located an additional four victims on the ocean floor in close proximity to the vessel,” Brown said, while 26 people are missing.
Five Conception crew members were awake and jumped into the water when flames burst out around 3:15 am (1015 GMT), Coast Guard Captain Monica Rochester said, putting the total number of people aboard the boat at 39.
Scuba diving boat caught fire and sank off the California coast, 8 died
