What we know now
- Dive boat sinks: The Conception, a 75-foot dive boat, burned down off the coast of Southern California in the Channel Islands National Park.
- 39 people on board: Five people have been rescued, and 15 bodies have been found.
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At least 8 dead in boat fire off California coast
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Our live coverage has ended. Read more about the recovery operations for the California boat fire here.
LA Times: 15 bodies recovered
The Los Angeles Times is reporting 15 bodies have been found so far since the Conception caught fire, citing a US Coast Guard official.
Santa Barbara County officials told CNN additional victims are being recovered, but could not verify the total number.
CNN previously reported eight bodies had been recovered.
Actor Rob Lowe: "I've been on Conception many times"
Actor Rob Lowe called the fire that broke out on board the Conception an “unspeakable horror” on Twitter on Monday, adding that he has sailed on the boat many times.
“My prayers and thoughts are with the families,” he said.
Authorities say search and rescue mission will only last until dawn
California authorities will spend the night continuing to search for survivors, but plan to “make the unfortunate transition to recovery” in the morning.
“It’s going to be maintained a search and rescue effort until dawn tomorrow,” said Mike Eliason, a public information officer with the Santa Barbara County Fire Department.
Mayday call released in dive boat fire
A portion of the mayday call from the Conception has been released, and a person can be heard on the recording saying “I can’t breathe.”
The dispatcher also asked the person the following questions:
- “Can you get back on board and unlock the boat?”
- “There’s no escape hatch for any of the people on board?”
- “You don’t have any firefighter gear at all? No fire extinguishers or anything?”
26 people are still missing from the Conception
According to US Coast Guard Lt. Commander Stephen Brickey, these are the latest numbers on the boat fire investigation:
- 39 total people were on board, 33 were passengers and 6 were crew members
- 5 of the 6 crew members were rescued
- 4 bodies have been recovered
- An additional 4 bodies are visible on the ocean floor near the sunken vessel
- 26 people are still unaccounted for
USCG confirms search and rescue efforts will continue through the night and at least into Tuesday morning.
Sheriff Brown says it is unclear whether there was a black box on the vessel. The boat has sank and is inverted on the ocean floor in approximately 60 feet of water, according to USCG officials.
US Coast Guard releases new photo of response to boat fire
The Coast Guard released a new photo showing a rescue boat dousing the Conception with water.
Rescue crews locate 4 more bodies near dive boat
The bodies of four additional victims have been located on the ocean floor in close proximity to the vessel, said Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown.
Four other victims who had been previously recovered were identified as two adult males and two adult females, Brown added.
Dive teams were still attempting to locate and recover additional remains on Monday, officials said.
Tributes are emerging at Santa Barbara Harbor
As crews continue searching for the Conception’s missing passengers, flowers and other memorials are being set up at the Santa Barbara Harbor.
Earlier, Ventura County spokesman Bill Nash confirmed there were multiple fatalities aboard the boat but he did not have the exact number of casualties.
Four bodies have been recovered from dive boat
The bodies of four people were recovered by authorities Monday, hours after the 75-foot commercial diving boat caught fire off the coast of Santa Cruz Island, said US Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Stephen Brickey.
Their causes of death have not been determined, he added.
Mayday call dispatcher asked Conception crewmember: "Can you get back onboard and unlock the boat?"
In audio from a mayday call from the Conception, a Coast Guard dispatcher from Los Angeles questioned a Conception crew member about whether passengers were locked onboard the vessel.
“Can you get back onboard and unlock the boat?” the dispatcher asked.
In another question, the Coast Guard asked if there was an “escape hatch for any of the people onboard.”
In audio from Broadcastify, the Coast Guard dispatcher also questioned the crewmember about firefighting equipment onboard.
“You don’t have any firefighting gear at all? No fire extinguishers or anything?”
The crewmember’s responses are not audible in the recording.
Earlier today, Truth Aquatics, the company that owns the Conception, did not provide comment. CNN is continually reaching out.
Captain Monica Rochester with the US Coast Guard said earlier today that “the vessel has been in full compliance.
“We are working deliberately with the vessel owner/operator who is with us at the time,” she said.
California congresswoman says she is still "hoping" for survivors
In an interview outside of USCG in Oxnard, California Rep. Julia Brownley called the boat fire this morning “devastating.”
A command center is being set up in Santa Barbara for the family members of victims, she told reporters.
Crewmember wheeled to ambulance after rescue
A photo shows a member of the Conception’s crew is wheeled towards an ambulance on a stretcher after escaping the burning boat off coast of California.
Five members of the boat’s crew were rescued after it caught fire, the Coast Guard confirmed. Thirty-four of the 39 people on board are still missing.
The five who were rescued were crew members who were awake above deck and jumped into the water. Everyone else on board was sleeping below deck.
Here’s the photo:
NTSB is sending a team to California to investigate boat fire
The National Transportation Safety Board is sending a go-team to California to investigate the boat fire. Board Member Jennifer Homendy will lead the team that is investigating the incident.
More than 30 people were sleeping below deck when the fire broke out
There were 39 people onboard the Conception, and five were rescued by a Good Samaritan boat called The Grape Escape after it caught fire.
The 34 people who are still missing were below deck, sleeping, according to Captain Monica Rochester, US Coast Guard Los Angeles Long Beach Sector Commander.
The five who were rescued were crew members who were awake above deck and jumped into the water.
34 people are still missing
There are 34 people unaccounted for in the Conception fire, Captain Monica Rochester, US Coast Guard Los Angeles Long Beach Sector Commander said.
Rochester said there were 39 people onboard and five were rescued by a Good Samaritan boat called The Grape Escape.
Rochester said they are still is in a response phase, conducting shoreline searches. The vessel sank about 20-yards off the coast in 54-feet of water. A portion of the bow is still sticking out of the water.
Rochester said the vessel was in “full compliance.”
“We are working deliberately with the vessel owner/operator, who is with us at the time working on a plan to conduct further assistance for his vessel,” she said.
She said the only mayday call we received was the vessel was engulfed in flames. “That’s all we received.”
Boat owners are not commenting at this time
Truth Aquatics, the company that owns Conception, provided no comment to CNN this morning.
The person who answered at Truth Aquatics said, “We are trying to keep our lines open for the Coast Guard at this time, so we don’t have any comment.”
Boat sank 20 yards offshore while crews were fighting the blaze
The Conception was 20 yards offshore when it sank in 64 feet of water while crews tried to extinguish the fire, the Coast Guard said in a press release.
Crews from the Coast Guard, Santa Barbara Fire Department, Ventura County Fire Department and Vessel Assist all responded after a mayday call went out after 3 a.m. today.
The vessel currently has a portion of the bow sticking out of the water, the Coast Guard said.
More than 30 people were onboard. Five crew members have been rescued. There are “numerous fatalities” according to Bill Nash, Ventura County PIO.
5 people rescued from burning boat
Five people have been rescued from the Conception, a diving boat that caught fire early this morning near Santa Cruz Island, according to US Coast Guard Petty Officer Mark Barney.
Two of the people rescued reportedly have leg injuries.
The Conception is a 75-foot boat that left Saturday for a three-day diving trip. It was scheduled to return later today, according to the company website.
Fire department says boat has "burned down to the water line"
A boat on a three-day Labor Day diving excursion has “burned down,” according to the Santa Barbara County Fire Department.
The incident happened on the north side of Santa Cruz Island that faces the inland.
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