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33 Missing in Boat Fire Off Santa Cruz Island in California, Officials Say Over 30 Missing in Boat Fire Off Santa Cruz Island in California, Officials Say
(about 1 hour later)
The United States Coast Guard is searching for 33 people after a boat caught fire north of Santa Cruz Island in Southern California early Monday morning, the United States Coast Guard said in a statement. The United States Coast Guard is searching for more than 30 people after a scuba diving boat caught fire north of Santa Cruz Island in Southern California early Monday morning, a spokeswoman said.
Five others were rescued and the boat sank 20 yards offshore as fire department crews were fighting the blaze, according to the statement. Five crew members, who were onboard when the fire began, were able to evacuate, the Coast Guard spokeswoman, Capt. Monica Rochester, said at a news conference. The passengers were believed to be asleep below deck.
The boat was a 75-foot scuba diving vessel named “Conception,” according to Petty Officer Mark Barney, a Coast Guard spokesman. A boat of that length and with that name had been scheduled for a three-day scuba diving trip in the area beginning on Saturday, according to the website of Truth Aquatics, a Santa Barbara tour operator. “The crew was actually already awake and on the bridge and they jumped off,” she said.
Officer Barney said that the boat was carrying six crew members and 32 passengers. He did not say whether the five individuals rescued were crew or passengers. (An official with the Ventura County Fire Department previously told The New York Times that 34 people were missing and five were rescued.) Search and rescue operations are still being conducted, and crews are searching the shoreline for survivors, Captain Rochester said. The boat sank earlier in the morning in Platts Harbor about 20 yards from shore as fire department crews fought the blaze.
The Coast Guard picked up a mayday call related to the fire at about 3:15 a.m. and has since dispatched two helicopter crews and two boats to the scene, where they were met by partner law enforcement agencies, according to Officer Barney. First responders were met with dense fog at the scene, according to Santa Barbara Harbor Patrol Officer Nathan Alldredge. The boat was a 75-foot scuba diving vessel named Conception, Petty Officer Mark Barney, a Coast Guard spokesman, told The New York Times. A boat of that length and with that name had been scheduled for a three-day diving trip in the area beginning on Saturday, according to the website of Truth Aquatics, a Santa Barbara trip operator.
Santa Cruz Island, located in Santa Barbara County, is one of five islands in Channel Islands National Park, according to the website for National Park Service, which owns and manages about a quarter of the island. The other three-quarters is owned and managed by the Nature Conservancy. California’s largest island at about 96 square miles, Santa Cruz Island is about 20 miles from Ventura, the website said. There was still no information on Monday about the nature of the fire. Captain Rochester said the boat was fully in compliance and had no prior violations.
At the news conference, Captain Rochester said that 34 people were still missing, though estimates from officials had been in flux throughout the morning on Monday. (Less than an hour before the news conference, the Coast Guard itself had said in a statement that only 33 were missing.)
The Coast Guard picked up a mayday call related to the fire at about 3:15 a.m. and dispatched two helicopter crews and several boats to the scene, where they were met by partner law enforcement agencies.
Channel Islands Harbor in Oxnard, Calif., where the local Coast Guard is headquartered, was covered in fog on Monday morning, which locals said was an everyday occurrence and frequently cleared up by the afternoon. Despite the tragedy offshore, business continued largely as usual along the harbor; out on the water were recreational boats, kayakers and paddle boarders.
Santa Cruz Island, in Santa Barbara County, is one of five islands in Channel Islands National Park, according to the website for the National Park Service, which owns and manages about a quarter of the island. The other three-quarters is owned and managed by the Nature Conservancy. California’s largest island, at about 96 square miles, Santa Cruz Island is about 20 miles from Ventura, the website said.
Jose A. Del Real contributed reporting.