Dozens of people were missing following a fire aboard a dive boat at Channel Islands National Park/Ventura County Fire Department
Editor's note: Updates with additional details from the U.S. Coast Guard, raises number on board to 39.
Multiple fatalities were reported early Monday and dozens were unaccounted for following a fire aboard a 75-foot-long dive boat that was anchored off Channel Islands National Park, where it reportedly had headed for a dive off San Miquel Island.
According to the U.S. Coast Guard, the Conception, which carried 34 passengers and five crew, was anchored 20 yards off Santa Cruz Island when the fire broke out. A mayday was sent at about 3:15 a.m. local time Monday.
"The Coast Guard has launched multiple rescue assets along with assets from local agencies to assist more than 30 people in distress on a 75ft boat near Santa Cruz Island," the Coast Guard's Los Angeles office tweeted, adding that the Conception was on fire.
Five people were rescued by a nearby pleasure boat, the Great Escape, the Coast Guard said. Thirty-four others were unaccounted for, the agency said shortly before 8:30 a.m. local time.
Two Coast Guard Station Channel Islands Harbor 45-foot Response Boat-Medium crews, a Coast Guard Air Station San Francisco Forward Operating Base Mugu Dolphin MH-65 helicopter crew, a Coast Guard Air Station San Diego MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew, and the Coast Guard Cutter Narwhal all responded to the scene, which is about 60 miles south of Ventura, California.
By daylight, the ship had sank, with only a portion of its bow showing, the Coast Guard reported.
The Conception is operated by Truth Aquatics of Santa Barbara, California. It is a "live-aboard" dive boat that routinely travels to the Channel Islands for dives. It has worked with many school groups on educational trips, movie production crews, and research teams.
Comments
The crew gets off and the rest perrish???? Sounds hoaky.
This is a tragedy. needs to be fully investigated for potential negligence of the crew.
Hard to believe this fire got so fully engaged with required coast guard equipment
for this type dive vessel. Fire alarms and fire suppresion equipment should have
given ample warning and it is unbelievable that all of the crew would abandon the ship
leaving their under deck passengers with no warning or assistance. There should have been
fire extinguishers available to atleast have clerared a passage for the passengers to escape to the
maindeck level and get overboard. All passenger presumably were scuba divers and fully
qualified to make a water escape and swim 20 yards to shore.
Hey Ken, nice of you to Monday morning quarterback and throw people under the bus before all of the victims are even recovered. You were not there, you have no real facts about the incident, how it happened or what the crew could even do to try and help. You're definitely not the kind of scuba partner I want to dive with. GFY
It isn't surprizing that the crew members, who slept on the top deck, would be the ones who were able to survive. If the fire was too far gone, heck yeah they should have saved themselves, even it if seems to others they abandoned ship. It isn't their responsibility to die to prove anything to anyone.
Although its too early to tell if they did try to rescure passengers-they may have, The crew had a RESPONSIBILITY under law of the sea and hundreds of years of tradition to make the attempt. If you crew a passenger vessel-it is your moral and legal responsibility to do your best to save passengers in a disaster situation-even if it means putting yourself at risk. Again-maybe they did-but with apparently zero survivors amoung the passengers we probably will never know. (Ex Naval Officer)