SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – All 33 passengers and one crew member are assumed dead after a tragic boat fire early Monday that occurred in open water off the California coast.
Authorities reported in a press conference Tuesday that 20 victims had been recovered, including 11 females and 9 males. Of those victims, 16 had been recovered Monday. Approximately four to six victims were discovered in the wreckage but were unable to be recovered by nightfall.
U.S. Coast Guard Capt. Monica Rochester announced that the Coast Guard had decided to suspend search efforts, as "no additional signs of distress or debris has been witnessed." Rochester said that the nearly 24-hour search operation included seven missions and three helicopters crews, covering an area of 160 miles.
The boat had six crew members and the 33 passengers when it became fully engulfed in flames during a recreational scuba diving trip. The passengers and one crew member were assigned to bunk-beds on the bottom of the deck. Five crew members sleeping on the top deck jumped off and took a dinghy to safety. Two had minor injuries.
The crew members took their dinghy to a private fishing boat, The Grape Escape, that was anchored near the north shore of Santa Cruz Island. The boat's owners said two of the crew members went back to look for survivors but found no one.
Investigators have yet to determine the cause of the fire. Authorities said Tuesday that there was no indication that an explosion had occurred. Passengers were unable to get out because both the main stairwell and escape hatch were likely blocked by fire. It is unclear if passengers were actually asleep when they perished, Rochester said.
CLOSE At least 25 people are dead and nine are unaccounted for after a diving boat caught fire off Santa Cruz Island in California. USA TODAY
What caused the fire? California dive-boat fire highlights need for more than one exit from sleeping quarters
Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Matthew Kroll said five others have been found but not recovered because of unsafe conditions under the boat.
CLOSE Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown said, "You couldn't ask for a worse situation" than that of the deadly dive boat fire near Santa Cruz Island. USA TODAY
"You couldn't ask for a worse situation," Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown said at a Monday news conference.
Brown said the boat was upside down in relatively shallow water with receding tides that were moving the vessel around. A 3,000-foot temporary flight restriction was established around it. Authorities said it was under discussion whether to tow the vessel to shore or examine it on site.
Authorities opened a family assistance center where counseling was being provided to relatives of those onboard. None of their names were immediately released.
At least two students and their parents, whom may have been aboard during the incident, were reportedly from Pacific Collegiate School in Santa Cruz, according to KCBSTV.
"Our hearts and prayers are with the families of the victims and those yet missing, particularly those of our students," Head of School Maria C. Reitano said in a statement sent to the Salinas Californian. "Right now, our priority as a school community is to support our students, staff, and families."
Authorities responded Monday to a 3:30 a.m. mayday call of a boat engulfed in flames off Santa Cruz Island, about 90 miles northwest of Los Angeles, the Coast Guard said at a news conference later that day.
"The call was garbled, it was not that clear, but we were able to get some information out of it to send vessels," said Coast Guard Petty Officer Mark Barney.
Coast Guard crews, the Ventura County and Santa Barbara County fire departments, and Vessel Assist responded to the call regarding the 75-foot commercial diving vessel called Conception and operated by Truth Aquatics out of Santa Barbara Harbor.
The boat had been anchored in an area called Platts Harbor at Santa Cruz Island, part of the five-island Channel Islands National Park and technically a part of Santa Barbara County.
'The flames were 30 feet tall': Boat owner describes saving distressed crew members after Santa Cruz Island boat fire
Truth Aquatics, a Santa Barbara-based company, was founded in 1974. It had been chartered by Worldwide Diving Adventures, which says on its website that it has been taking divers on such expeditions since the 1970s.
The names of the passengers on the boat were not available as of Monday evening. Truth Aquatics said the list of all the people aboard was in the hands of the Coast Guard.
Authorities said Monday afternoon they were still working to notify next of kin of those who died.
A spontaneous memorial for the victims popped up at Santa Barbara Harbor Tuesday. Jennifer Stafford came to the seaside memorial with heart-shaped pins and flowers to tie to the wharf. The longtime Santa Barbara woman said she wanted to find a way to help.
“I just brought them along to see if I could give them to family members so they would have a touchstone,” she said, after hugging a woman who said she had a family member who was still missing. The woman wore one of Stafford’s pins.
Stafford said one man had a fallen to his knees sobbing at the memorial, where flowers, leis and candles had been left. A pair of flippers hung from a post with the words “We love you Conception” written on them.
“People are in shock,” Stafford said. “If they lost a family member or best friend or coworker ... it’s shocking and it’s so sad.”
Rodriguez reported out of McLean, Virginia. Contributing: Cheri Carlson, Gretchen Wenner and Megan Diskin, Ventura County (California) Star; The Associated Press.
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The ''Conception'' fire at night 
A deadly boat fire earlier this week near  off the coast of California, United States, resulted in the death of all 33 passengers. The boat, ''Conception'', which caught fire overnight in open seas, carried 33 passengers and six crew members. Five people, who were all crew, were rescued while the rest are presumed dead. 
Helicopter footage of response to the boat fire on Monday 
The ''Conception'' was a 75  (~23 ) long commercial boat on a three-day voyage for  with Monday being the  holiday. The fire started some time after 3 a.m. local time {1000 UTC) Monday. "This is probably the worst-case scenario you can possibly have," said  Bill Brown. "You have a vessel that's on the open sea, that is in the middle of the night. I mean, it's 3:30 in the morning." As of late Tuesday, 20 bodies had been recovered, eleven women and nine men, according to Brown.

The  (USCG) called off its search late on Tuesday. USCG Captain Monica Rochester told the press a nearly 24-hour search mission involving three helicopters covering 160  (~415 km2) had discovered no further signs in the water. "It is never an easy decision to suspend search efforts," she said. "We know that this is a very difficult time for families and friends of the victims."

Authorities have not named a cause for the fire, though it was intimated there were no signs of an explosion and the ''Conception'' was known to have the requisite fire suppression equipment. CNN, however, reported on a distress call from someone on the ''Conception'', who may or may not have been the captain. The excerpts, which are only the dispatcher's words were reported by CNN as such:


Commenting on the radio communications, Captain Rochester said the situation had "a lot of adrenaline, a lot of confusion. ... The dispatcher was trying to ask for information." However, she added, "there are no locked doors in accommodation spaces" where the passengers would have been.

The ''Conception'' was owned by Truth Aquatics and chartered by Worldwide Diving Adventures. Both companies have been in operation since the 1970s according to ''USA Today''.



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