By Joe
The Coast Guard said Monday night that a total of 25 bodies have been located from the tragic boat fire off the coast of Southern California.
Authorities have recovered 20 of the bodies and discovered five more inside the Conception, a dive ship that had been on a three-day scuba diving excursion to the Channel Islands.
“This is probably the worst-case scenario you can have,” Santa Barbara Sheriff Bill Brown said at a press conference on Monday night.
Nine people were still missing after a fire broke out early Monday aboard the boat just 20 yards from shore, killing up to 34 people trapped below deck.
One crew member and 33 passengers were sleeping below the deck when the fire broke out and had no way to escape. The captain and four colleagues jumped overboard and survived.
Officials said that DNA tests would need to be conducted to identify the dead due to the “conditions of the bodies.”
A Coast Guard official said the boat was in “full compliance” with safety regulations.
