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A team of federal investigators on Tuesday promised an exhaustive probe into a fire that killed all 34 passengers on a dive boat, many of whose charred bodies were believed trapped in the sunken wreckage off the California coast.
After recovering 20 bodies from the 75-foot (23-meter) vessel Conception or from the waters where the dive ship quickly sank off Santa Cruz Island, officials said they believed none of the 14 victims initially classified as missing had survived the fast-moving flames.
Ventura County Fire Department personnel respond to a boat fire on a 75-foot vessel off Santa Cruz Island, California, September 2, 2019. /Ventura County Fire Department
Firefighters attempt to extinguish a fire on a boat off the coast of Santa Cruz Island, California September 2, 2019. /VCG photo
Rescue personnel return to shore with the victims of a pre-dawn fire that sank a commercial diving boat off the coast of Santa Barbara, California, U.S., September 2, 2019. /VCG photo
The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) suspended search efforts as of 9:40 a.m. Tuesday pending further development, said Monica Rochester, USCG Los Angeles-Long Beach sector commander. "It is never an easy decision to suspend search efforts," she said. "We know this is a very difficult time for families and friends of the victims."
The remains of the 20 victims, 11 female and nine male, have been identified, Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown told a press briefing Tuesday.
National Transportation Safety Board member Jennifer Homendy said 16 investigators were already taking part in the investigation, including specialists in operations, engineering, survival factors and fire analysis.
Flowers and candles are seen at a makeshift memorial near Truth Aquatics for those missing in a boat off a Southern California island near Santa Barbara, California, U.S., September 2, 2019. /VCG photo
United States Coast Guard Capt. Monica Rochester addresses a press conference at the Sheriffs Department, September 3, 2019. /VCG photo
A memorial is growing at Santa Barbara Harbor where the dive boat Conception was based Tuesday morning, September 3, 2019. /VCG photo
According to the authorities, the boat named "Conception" was on a three-day diving excursion around Santa Cruz Island, west of Santa Barbara, which was due to end on Tuesday morning.
The five rescued were crew members, who were awake and jumped into the water when flames burst out at around 3:15 a.m. local time (1015 GMT), Coast Guard Captain Monica Rochester said, putting the total number of people aboard the boat at 39.
The passengers however were believed to have been sleeping when the fire erupted and were trapped below deck by the roaring blaze.
The coast guard said the fire and heat prevented rescuers from breaching the vessel's hull to search for survivors before the craft sank, and a dense fog further complicated rescue efforts.
The vessel had a crowded cabin with three-high bunks below deck and sank 20 meters off the island's northern shore, leaving only its bow exposed.
(With input from agencies)