Authorities said Tuesday that all 33 passengers and one crew member are presumed dead after a boat fire early Monday in the water near California’s Santa Cruz Island.
On Tuesday, authorities said that the bodies of 20 victims had been recovered, including 11 females and nine males. (Earlier reports erroneously stated that 25 bodies had been recovered.) Another four to six bodies were believed to be in the wreckage of the boat, but had yet to be recovered, while 14 victims remained missing. (USA Today)
Federal investigators are now trying to determine how the boat caught fire.
Jennifer Homendy of the National Transportation Safety Board said Tuesday the agency is determined to find answers. OC:..happening again. :12 [Courtesy of 24/7 News Source]
“I am 100 percent confident that our investigators will determine the case of this fire, why it occurred, how it occurred and what is needed to prevent it from happening again.”
- It appeared there was only one way out of the boat’s sleeping quarters.
- This tragedy has rocked the Southern California boating and scuba diving communities.
- Most of the victims will need to be identified through DNA analysis.