Live: Boat on fire off Sant Cruz Island...

[Brandy]

Rescue operation underway for over 30 people in boat fire off Ventura County coast, officials say


ABC7.com staff
19 mins ago

A massive rescue operation was launched early Monday morning in response to reports of dozens of people in distress on board a boat that possibly caught fire off the coast of Ventura County, authorities said.

More than 30 people on board a 75-foot boat near Santa Cruz island were in need of assistance, according to a tweet from the Los Angeles division of the United State Coast Guard.


Coast Guard officials said a group of crew members were rescued, including one with a broken leg, as they worked to evacuate the remaining passengers. It's unknown exactly how many people were on board the vessel.

Ventura County fire officials said they were working to assist the Coast Guard with a boat fire.

It's unknown if there were any injuries or fatalities in the incident.

DEVELOPING: This story will be updated as more information becomes available.

 

[Brandy]

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Four Bodies Recovered, Four More Bodies Located – 30 People Missing, During Horrific Dive Boat Incident…
Posted on September 2, 2019 by sundance
During the latest update from California officials, four bodies have been recovered and four more have been located on the floor of the ocean as divers work to recover them,



A total of 30 people are missing after a catastrophic fire aboard a 75-foot chartered dive boat off the coast of Santa Cruz. During a press conference Santa Barbara officials reveal the discovery of four more bodies in addition to the four victims already recovered:

OXNARD, Calif. (Reuters) – Four bodies were recovered on Monday and 30 people were missing after a predawn fire sank a scuba diving boat off a Southern California island, a U.S. Coast Guard spokesman said.

The fire broke out aboard the Conception, a 75-foot (23-meter) boat, at about 3.15 a.m. while it was moored just off the shore of Santa Cruz Island, the Coast Guard said in a statement.


Five crew members aboard escaped the fire while the passengers slept in the ship’s lower quarters.

“The crew was already awake and on the bridge and jumped off,” Coast Guard Captain Monica Rochester told a news conference in Oxnard. (read more)

Distress call within tweet-video:

 

[slimt]

Dang. Be interesting to know how this happened.

RIP to those lost.

 

[dadsbee]

Great crew..

 

[Brandy]

Seems like the numbers got a bit better with the dawn, they found 4 of the missing...and some more bodies

 

[Budnicks]

it was in the Channel Islands, off southern California coastal islands

last I saw was 32 (34 ?) dead or missing
20 or so were found
name of which, most are being withheld,
until they can be identified & for the families/rapid DNA services

it was anchored just outside of a port, really close to the island
but in like 60' of water

allegedly it (the fire) got way out of hand, way too fast
they were, down below in a sleeping & eating area (galley)
small access doors/hatches like 2' x 2' is what they said,
they are intended to be that way
to keep water out if they get in high waves/rough seas etc.
(so water doesn't get in & sink it)

I would assume the fire was blocking the exits ???
or they were knocked out by lack of oxygen or smoke,
suffocation from lack of oxygen & flames etc.
(oxygen tanks of the fill station are, I assume which was the fuel of the fire)

a bunch of stuff happened really quickly

from what I heard & saw,
I'm not sure the crew, could have done much more that they did

their lives were in peril too

lot of people in a confined space, with little to no escape/exit ways

sad that only the captain (I assume) & most of his crew
got on the dingy & got away
I'm sure they don't want to die either
it's a fishing/diving boat charter, not a luxury liner
so it doesn't have a huge safety protocol (I'd also assume)

I guess we'll hear more sooner or later

from what I saw & heard all but 1 crew member a lady,
got off to safety
the area where the fire was, was below deck
there was oxygen filling stations etc.
lots of things for a catalyst

to all the victims & families, friends etc. etc. etc.
you have my deepest heartfelt condolences, sympathy
this was a real tragedy
this is/was a horrid accident, that took dozens of lives

 

[Brandy]

Tragic chain of events to be sure.

 

[slimt]

Kind of wonder if the rules will change on size of hatches to be evacuating safely on excursion vessals like this. Im just wondering as Im a land person not a ocean person

 

[Brandy]

Kind of wonder if the rules will change on size of hatches to be evacuating safely on excursion vessals like this. Im just wondering as Im a land person not a ocean person

I did see a blurb about needing an alternate exit. That will be good idea..

 

[steve from staten island]

Coast Gaurd will be looking at every inspection report in that boats history. From my limited knowledge from seeing Coast Guard vessel inspections as well as ABS. I cannot believe a single limited entry and exit would possibly be allowed on a passenger carrying vessel.
I also can’t imagine every crew member would be asleep and not one on watch, there is no way CG regulations would permit that.
Besides that it’s just plain common sense, not saying there wasn’t but that fire spread very rapidly and fire,smoke alarms would have sounded at the first sign
Ultimately the crew and captain are responsible for passengers safety.
I’ve seen personally what happened when the crew was negligent and passengers died.
What about fire suppression systems? The thought of these people being trapped in a fiery coffin is beyond comprehension. My prayers with the victims and their families