Vigil held for 34 boat fire victims

Credit to Author: ASSOCIATED PRESS| Date: Sat, 07 Sep 2019 17:20:45 +0000

Sta. Barbara, California: The 34 people who died in a diving boat fire off Southern California are being remembered by those who shared their love of the sea.

Hundreds turned out Friday evening for a vigil at a Sta. Barbara Park. The dead were “our friends and our family members. Our common love of diving binds us together for eternity,” said Don Barthelmess, a local dive instructor.

Thirty-four scuba tanks lined the stage. Mourners wept, embraced and placed white carnations in baskets. The flowers and a wreath were destined for an existing waterside memorial to those lost at sea.

The dive boat Conception was gutted by fire and went down in about 65 feet of water before dawn Monday while anchored off Sta. Cruz Island.

Those who died were in a bunkroom below deck and probably were trapped as flames blocked a stairway and an escape hatch, authorities have said.

Preliminary findings on the causes of death, announced by Sta. Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown, raise the possibility the victims inhaled highly toxic smoke and died in their sleep before being scorched by flames that burned their bodies beyond recognition.

“The indicators are from the preliminary examination of the bodies that the victims died prior to being burned,” Brown said.

The revelation came as investigators searched for the cause of the deadly blaze and divers looked for the body of the one missing victim. The Coast Guard said safety concerns over gusty winds halted efforts to salvage the boat Friday afternoon.

Gusts of up to 40 miles per hour were expected through the weekend. The Conception’s captain and four other crew members jumped overboard and were the only survivors.

They told investigators a harrowing tale of trying to get below decks to help the 33 guests and one crew member, but finding themselves driven away by flames, heat and smoke.

“Within minutes, they would’ve been consumed,” Glen Fritzler, co-owner of boat owner Truth Aquatics Inc., said. “So they did their best. They did reenter the vessel from the back of the boat after they swam around it. They could not get to firefighting equipment because everything was engulfed.”

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