25 people dead, 9 remain missing after scuba diving boat catches fire near Santa Cruz Island
SAN PEDRO, CA — Crews were still searching Tuesday for missing people after a scuba diving boat caught fire and sank Monday morning near Santa Cruz Island off the Southern California coast.
As of Tuesday morning, at least 25 people were confirmed dead and another nine people remained missing, The Associated Press reported.
Five crew members jumped off the burning ship and evacuated aboard a good Samaritan pleasure craft named Grape Escape, according to U.S. Coast Guard Capt. Monica Rochester. One crew member suffered non-life-threatening injuries, the Coast Guard said.
The Coast Guard’s Los Angeles/Long Beach station received a mayday call around 3:15 a.m. of an engulfed 75-foot commercial diving boat off the north shore of Santa Cruz Island near Platt’s Harbor in Santa Barbara County.
Crews from the Coast Guard, Santa Barbara Fire, and Ventura County Fire fought the flames, but around 7:20 a.m. the boat sank 20 yards offshore in 64 feet of water, according to the Coast Guard.