Thirty-four people have died after a commercial diving boat caught fire at 3:00am off the coast of an island near Santa Barbara, California, on Monday.
The 75-foot boat was carrying 39 passengers, including five crew members, when it suddenly caught fire, according to the Associated Press. Officials believe the passengers, none of whom escaped, were trapped by flames on the bottom deck, according to the New York Times. The news agency also reports that the bottom deck did have privacy curtains, but that it did not have locks that would have prevented passengers from escaping.
The crew members, who were already awake and on the top deck, sent out a distress call before jumping off, reports Reuters. They then climbed onto a nearby boat owned by Bob and Shirley Hansen, both of whom were asleep at the time.
“When we looked out, the other boat was totally engulfed in flames, from stem to stern,” Hansen told the Associated Press. “I could see the fire coming through holes on the side of the boat. There were these explosions every few beats. You can’t prepare yourself for that. It was horrendous.”
Officials have recovered twenty bodies, but have called off the search for survivors as all victims are presumed dead, according to the New York Times.
“It is never an easy decision to suspend search efforts,” Capt. Monica Rochester, a Coast Guard spokesperson, told the news agency. “We know this is a very difficult time for families and friends of victims. We have suspended search efforts due to no additional individuals having been witnessed entering the water. Our last aircraft overflight this morning has revealed that no additional signs of distress or debris has been witness.”
Two of the deceased victims were students at Pacific Collegiate, a local elite charter school, according to the Associated Press. Another five victims were reportedly all members of the same family. Officials have not publicly identified any of the victims.
A separate boating-related accident over the weekend also claimed the lives of several members of the same family, who were on a Labor Day outing on the Whitewater River in central Indiana, according to the Associated Press.
Officials say the boat capsized, claiming four victims, including an eldely woman and a 6-year-old boy. Two people survived, and one person remains unaccounted for.