"I can not breathe," said Mayday Call in Santa Cruz Island, California, fire of a boat

"I can not breathe," said Monday morning a passenger aboard a burning ship near the island of Santa Cruz, California, during a phone call to the US. ;agenda.

Ventura County officials "fear many victims" as rescue operations continue, Public Information Officer Bill Nash told ABC News.

Twenty-nine people are still missing after four bodies were found in the water near the 75-foot diving boat, said the US Coast Guard, The Associated Press reported.

Earlier, five crew members were rescued aboard a Samaritan pleasure boat called Great Escape. Captain Monica Rochester, Area Commander of the Long Beach at the US Coast Guard in Los Angeles, said the crew members were awake at the time of the fire and jumped from the boat at the 39; water.

Mike Eliason / Santa Barbara County Fire Department / AFP / Getty Images

Nash said the officials were hoping people would pass by the side of the boat and go to Santa Cruz. However, the fire occurred during the night and the dormitories were under the bridge. Nash said that they "were very worried about losing their lives here."

Coast Guard crews, firefighters from Santa Barbara, Ventura County and Vessel Assist responded to a Mayday call that was heard around 3:15 pm

"The fire crews were fighting the fire when the ship sank 20 meters off the coast in 64 feet of water," according to a Coast Guard release.

County of Ventura Fire Department

"It was reported that the ship was on fire," said the Los Angeles office of The US Coast Guard tweeted earlier on Monday. They added that "a group of crew members were rescued (one with minor injuries) and efforts continue to evacuate the remaining passengers".

Rochester said the ship was in "full compliance".

"We are deliberately working with the owner / operator of the ship, who is working with us at that time on an additional plan of assistance for her ship," she said.

Ventura County Fire Department Information Officers says in a tweet that their department reacted to the fire around 3:30. They stated that the Coast Guard "was helping to support the rescue operations of people on board a dive boat".

County of Ventura Fire Department

According to the Santa Barbara Fire Department, the boat was drifting to the island of Santa Cruz and was moored when the fire started to burn. According to the Coast Guard, there is currently a portion of the bow coming out of the water.

Rochester said the teams were actively conducting search and rescue efforts.

This is a story in development. Please check again for updates.