OXNARD, Calif. (CA) – The bodies of four people killed by a massive fire that swept a diving boat off the southern coast of California were found Monday, as authorities said more than two dozen people were still missing.
Lieutenant Cmdr. Matthew Kroll says the four bodies had wounds compatible with drowning.
Researchers continued to search more than two dozen other people aboard the Conception ship, which burned while it was anchored off the island of Santa Cruz.
"Right now, they are looking for survivors on the shores," Coast Guard Captain Monica Rochester told reporters at a brief news conference at Channel Islands Harbor in Oxnard.
14PICTURES
Dozens of missing after the fire of a boat off California
See gallery
A Ventura County fire truck leaves the Channel Islands US Coast Guard station in Oxnard, California on Monday, September 2, 2019. Several people are feared dead after a diving boat caught fire before dawn, Monday, off the south coast of California. (AP Photo / Ringo H.W. Chiu)
An FBI agent arrives at the US Coast Guard Channel Islands Station in Oxnard, Calif., On Monday, September 2, 2019, while many people would be killed after a dive boat caught fire before the day. dawn, Monday, off the south coast of California. (AP Photo / Ringo H.W. Chiu)
FBI and Coast Guard members work together at the US Coast Guard Channel Islands Station in Oxnard, California, on Monday, September 2, 2019, as several people are killed after a dive boat has taken Fire before dawn Monday, off the south coast of California. (AP Photo / Ringo H.W. Chiu)
A woman is comforted by a member of the Ventura County Fire Department at the US Coast Guard Station at Channel Islands, Oxnard, California, on Monday, September 2, 2019. Several people are dead fears after one year. Diving boat caught fire before dawn on Monday. Southern coast of California, according to the Coast Guard. (AP Photo / Ringo H.W. Chiu)
In this photo provided by the Ventura County Fire Department, VCFD firefighters respond to a boat fire on the south coast of California on Monday, September 2, 2019. The US Coast Guard has announced that it has launched several boats to helping more than two dozen "distressed" people off the coast of southern California. (Ventura County Fire Department via AP)
Click here to view information about the Santa Barbara Bomber Department, last month and the next day, beginning to read earlier, which will eventually be picked up by the madrugada on Monday 2 September 2019 in the UK. )
Coast Guard Captain Monica Rochester, right, addresses the media at the base of the US Coast Guard station at Channel Islands in Oxnard, California on Monday, September 2, 2019. A dive boat has caught fire before dawn Monday, off the south coast of California. Several crew members were saved and Lieutenant Cmdr. Matthew Kroll told the Associated Press that the Coast Guard was looking for other people who might have escaped the fire by jumping off the boat. (AP Photo / Stefanie Dazio)
On this photo provided by the Santa Barbara County Fire Department, firefighters extinguish a burning dive boat after a deadly fire broke out aboard a scuba diving boat off the coast. from the south coast of California on Monday, September 2, 2019. (Santa Claus Department of Fire Department of Barbara County via AP)
In this photo provided by the Ventura County Fire Department, VCFD firefighters respond to a boat fire on the south coast of California on Monday, September 2, 2019. The US Coast Guard has announced that it has launched several boats to helping more than two dozen "distressed" people off the coast of southern California. (Ventura County Fire Department via AP)
On this photo provided by the Santa Barbara County Fire Department, a dive boat is in flames after a deadly fire broke out aboard the scuba diving vessel off the coast Southern California, Monday morning, September 2, 2019. (Fire Department of Santa Barbara County via AP)
In this photo provided by the Ventura County Fire Department, VCFD firefighters respond to a boat fire on the south coast of California on Monday, September 2, 2019. The US Coast Guard has announced that it has launched several boats to helping more than two dozen "distressed" people off the coast of southern California. (Ventura County Fire Department via AP)
Coast Guard crews leave the Channel Islands US Coast Guard station to visit the site of the boat that burned and sank off the Santa Cruz Islands early in the morning at the Coast Guard Base in Oxnard. California, September 2, 2019. – A commercial dive boat sank early in the midst of the flames off the south coast of California and 34 passengers were reported missing, the US Coast Guard said. Five members of the Conception team were awake and jumped into the water when the flames erupted around 3:15 am (10:15 GMT), Coast Guard Captain Monica Rochester told reporters at the press. a televised briefing. She said that 34 people – not the 33 reported earlier by the Coast Guard – were missing when the Conception sank 20 meters offshore, leaving only its exposed arc. (Photo by Mark RALSTON / AFP) (Photo credit must match MARK RALSTON / AFP / Getty Images)
Coast Guard crews leave the Channel Islands US Coast Guard station to visit the site of the boat that burned and sank off the Santa Cruz Islands early in the morning at the Coast Guard Base in Oxnard. California, September 2, 2019. – A commercial dive boat sank early in the midst of the flames off the south coast of California and 34 passengers were reported missing, the US Coast Guard said. Five members of the Conception team were awake and jumped into the water when the flames erupted around 3:15 am (10:15 GMT), Coast Guard Captain Monica Rochester told reporters at the press. a televised briefing. She said that 34 people – not the 33 reported earlier by the Coast Guard – were missing when the Conception sank 20 meters offshore, leaving only its exposed arc. (Photo by Mark RALSTON / AFP) (Photo credit must match MARK RALSTON / AFP / Getty Images)
A US Coast Guard crew leaves the US Coast Guard station to visit the site of the boat that burned and sank off the Santa Cruz Islands early in the morning at the Coast Guard Base in Oxnard, California September 2, 2019. – A commercial scuba diving boat sank at the start of the Southern California Flame and 34 people went missing, the US Coast Guard said. Five members of the Conception team were awake and jumped into the water when the flames erupted around 3:15 am (10:15 GMT), Coast Guard Captain Monica Rochester told reporters at the press. a televised briefing. She said that 34 people – not the 33 reported earlier by the Coast Guard – were missing when the Conception sank 20 meters offshore, leaving only its exposed arc. (Photo by Mark RALSTON / AFP) (Photo credit must match MARK RALSTON / AFP / Getty Images)
HIDE CAPTION
SHOW CAPTION
The coast stated that the vessel would have transported 38 people, including five crew members who jumped off the boat shortly after the fire caught fire before dawn.
"The crew was already awake and on deck and jumped," Rochester said.
Two suffered minor injuries, said Coast Guard NCO Mark Barney.
Authorities said the crew members were rescued by a good Samaritan ship called The Grape Escape.
When asked if the crew had tried to help others aboard, Rochester replied, "I do not have any additional information."
A woman who came to the port said, "My son was on this boat." She was taken away by a firefighter from Ventura County.
Rochester said the 20-meter (75-foot) commercial diving vessel was anchored in Platt Harbor, about 18 meters from the north coast of the island of Santa Cruz, when the fire s & # 39; 39, is declared around 3 o'clock in the morning.
She stated that the vessel sank in 64 feet of water, adding that her bow was still visible above the waterline.
The Design was the last day of a Labor Day weekend cruise to the Channel Islands when the fire broke out.
"At 3:15 this morning, the coastguard heard a call from Mayday.The call was distorted, it was not very clear, but we were able to get information to send ships to the scene "said Barney.
Rochester said the call indicated that the boat was already completely on fire.
The Design was chartered by Worldwide Diving Adventures, which indicates on its website that it has been taking divers on such expeditions since the 1970s. It was owned and operated by Truth Aquatics, a respected Santa Barbara-based company founded in 1974.
Asked that the boat's driver has already committed offenses, Rochester said: "The ship has been fully compliant."
National Transportation Safety has announced the dispatch of a team to investigate.
The Conception had left at 4 o'clock on Saturday and planned to return at 5 pm. On Monday.
Divers sleep in a single room of bunk beds, according to a design scheme posted on the Truth Aquatics website.
The website indicates that the vessel, launched in 1981, has rafts and lifejackets that can accommodate up to 110 passengers. Port, starboard and forward ship exits facilitate "entry of water into the water".
The trip promised many opportunities to see colorful coral and a variety of marine life around the Channel Islands, off the south coast of California.
___
Associate press editors John Antczak, John Rogers and Justin Pritchard in Los Angeles and Michael Balsamo in Washington contributed to this story.
More than Aol.com:
A toddler struck in Texas still wants to "run and play," his mother tells the governor
Alaska was hit by a magnitude 5.0 earthquake that hit two capitals and left the local people's bed and shower shaking.
The shooting in Odessa raises to 7 people, a child of 17 months among the wounded
