UPDATED 9/3, 2 p.m. ET: Shortly after news that the remains of “what appeared to be” 25 people had been discovered, the search for the remaining passengers of the Conception has been called off. The presumed dead now number 34, per NBC News.
"It is never an easy decision to suspend search efforts," U.S. Coast Guard Capt. Monica Rochester. The search ended Tuesday morning; over a 24-hour search, no signs of distress were detected.
UPDATED 9/3, 9:20 a.m. ET:Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Matthew Kroll has shared an update with NBC News, stating that crews had recovered "what appeared to be" the remains of 25 people. He cautioned, however, that the exact figure may be altered following coroner confirmation.
As it stands now, at least nine people are said to still be missing. The search remains in effect.
See original story below.
Conflicting information was released early Monday regarding a burning dive boat incident near Santa Cruz Island in Southern California.
The Ventura County Fire Department, per regional outlet KTLA, reportedly said that 34 people had died due to the blaze. The U.S. Coast Guard, meanwhile, has not echoed that statement and—at the time of this writing—had confirmed only that the vessel was on fire and a group of crew members had been rescued. One crew member, per a Coast Guard rep, had sustained minor injuries.
KTLA said the boat was named Conception and had caught fire while anchored off Santa Cruz Island. Citing Santa Barbara county Fire Department officials, the report specified that five people had been rescued, while an estimated 34 remained missing.
Those figures, however, were still in flux early Monday.
Conception left Saturday for a three-day cruise and was slated to return Monday. The max capacity of the 75-foot dive boat is said to be 46 people. The vessel, which is listed here as having first launched in 1981, was designed to accommodate sleeping quarters by way of 13 double bunks and 20 single bunks.
This story will be updated.
