Divers Search For Last Bodies In California Boat Fire, Investigations Begin

Divers searched for more bodies early on Tuesday around the wreck of a boat destroyed by a blaze off the coast of southern California, as authorities launched an investigation into one of the area’s worst maritime disasters.

Emergency crews found at least 25 bodies after the fire broke out before dawn on Monday, leaving nine people still missing, the Associated Press reported. The coastguard declined to confirm the figures.

“We are looking for bodies now,” said Santa Barbara Fire Department spokeswoman Amber Anderson.

Flames ripped through the scuba diving vessel Conception, as it was moored off Santa Cruz Island, trapping the passengers below deck.

Five of the six-strong crew managed to escape in an inflatable boat, but no one else has been found.