More than 30 people were unaccounted for Monday morning after a deadly fire on a commercial diving vessel off the coast of Southern California. The Ventura County Fire Department told CBS News that there were fatalities, but officials didn’t know the exact number.
Ventura County fire Captain Brian McGrath told CBS News 34 people were unaccounted for. U.S. Coast Guard Captain Monica Rochester confirmed that number during a press conference, and she told reporters the agency was engaging in “search-and-rescue activities” and “conducting shoreline searches for any available survivors.”
Five people were rescued by a pleasure craft named the Grape Escape, Rochester said. One of the five people rescued was the captain of the diving vessel, McGrath said.
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The 75-foot vessel, which the Coast Guard identified as the Conception, sank about 20 yards offshore from Santa Cruz Island, which is located off the coast of Santa Barbara, Rochester said. The water was 64 feet deep, she said.
The Coast Guard heard a mayday call at around 3:30 a.m. that the vessel was engulfed in flames, Rochester said. Santa Barbara County Fire Department spokesman Mike Eliason said on Twitter the boat caught fire while it was anchored near the island.
Coast Guard spokesman Mark Barney told CBS News all of the people rescued were crew members. They were able to escape the fire because they were near the top of the vessel, Barney said.
The Coast Guard said on Twitter multiple assets were launched to “assist more than 30 people in distress.”
