29 bodies missing, 4 bodies found after the fire and the sink of a boat off the coast of Ventura County: LAist

by



[ad_1]

A boat carrying 39 people caught fire off the island of Santa Cruz on September 2, 2019. (Santa Barbara County Fire Department)

Twenty-nine people are still missing Monday and four people are still dead after the fire of a dive boat that eventually sank off the coast of Ventura County.

Mayday's call took place at about 3:15 pm from the Conception ship, just outside Platts Harbor, north of Santa Cruz Island, a remote but popular dive site in the Channel Islands National Park.

Five people were saved by a "good Samaritan pleasure boat" before the boat sank about 20 meters from the coast of the island in about 65 feet of water. According to Coast Guard officials, the boat still had some of the bow out of the water.

The five people rescued were crew members who were awake and on deck at the time of the incident, and then jumped overboard, said Coast Guard Captain Monica Rochester at the time of the incident. 39, a press conference in the morning. The passengers were sleeping under the bridge when the fire broke out, she said.

A Coast Guard spokesman told The Associated Press that four bodies had been found near the Conception site. 29 people are still missing.

Authorities initially reported that 39 people were on board, but their numbers fluctuated during the morning. A sixth crew member appeared on the manifest, but was not on board, said a Coast Guard officer at the AP, which means that 38 people, including 33 passengers, were on board the ship when the fire is declared.

The sheriff's department of Santa Barbara County was leading the rescue / recovery operation. The area was searched with boats and helicopters.

A family support center was being established at the Earl Warren Showgrounds, located at 3400 Calle Real in Santa Barabara.

The National Transportation Safety Board sent a "team" to investigate the incident, the agency reported. The team is designed to "begin the investigation of a major accident at the accident site as quickly as possible," according to the NTSB website.

WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT THE BOAT

The Conception was operated by Truth Aquatics, a Santa Barbara-based rental company that organized various sea excursions, including whale watching, lobster diving and fishing. The company operates two other vessels, Truth and Vision.

According to a list of online trips, the concept was a three-day trip on Labor Day weekend to give divers a "unique opportunity to explore the pinnacles of the island of San Miguel" .

The advertised capacity of Design's bunk room was 46 people, including bunk beds, double and single, and a shower room.

A screen shot of the Truth Aquatics website shows the layout of the Design Sleeping Room, a dive boat that sank off the coast of Ventura County, near the Channel Islands on Monday 2 September 2019. (With permission from Truth Aquatics)

According to the World Diving Adventures website, the boat was built in 1981 in Long Beach and measured 79 feet in total length. The galley included "all the equipment needed for meal preparation and is waterproof for divers in combination." Bar-B-Que integrated on board.

The specifications of the boat also indicate that it was equipped with rafts and life jackets for 110 passengers and a fire extinguishing system.

Flowers float in the space where the Conception dive boat had been moored. The boat caught fire in the early morning hours of Monday, September 2 as he was taking part in an expedition of 34 passengers and five crew members. (Sharon McNary / LAist)

Tony Gonzales, a resident of Carpinteria, friend of a former member of the crew of Truth Aquatics dive vessels, brought flowers to the port of Santa Barbara and threw them into the water in sign of respect and mourning for potentially lost lives.

"It's just a bad situation," Gonzales said, calling the team "very dedicated."

This story is growing. Come back for updates.

UPDATES:

11:41: This article has been updated with information about the ongoing NTSB investigation.

11:21: This article has been updated with new AP reports, an interview with Santa Barbara Harbor and an update of the Family Help Center.

10:44: This article has been updated with the announcement of a reunification center in Santa Barbara.

9:33: This article has been updated with new information from a morning press briefing.

8:56: This article has been updated with details about the rescue operation and the point at which the boat sank.

8:39: This article has been updated with details on the diving tour and the design.

8:02: This article has been updated with details on the timing of the fire and rescues.

This article was published at 7:43.

Ryan Fonseca, Megan Garvey and Sharon McNary contributed to this story.

[ad_2]

Source link