After the fire on a boat off the coast of California, the rescuers have recovered four victims, the authorities said. Dozens more people are still missing.
Only five crew members were able to save themselves from the fire on the dive boat off the island of Santa Cruz. A total of 38 people had been on the ship, said the Coast Guard. The hope that many people could escape from the burning ship is small. They would be preparing for the treatment of many deaths, said a spokesman for the Santa Barbara Forensics Department of the Los Angeles Times.
It was feared that many passengers were surprised by the fire in the night. They slept below deck, a Coast Guard spokesman said in a CNN interview. The search for possible survivors continues.
Emergency call at three o'clock in the morning
The boat had gone up in flames that night on Monday before Santa Cruz. Shortly after three o'clock in the morning, an emergency call was received from the ship at the Coast Guard. Heavy fog in the region made the deployment of the rescue teams more difficult, they said.
Numerous fireboats had hurried to the crash site. The boat sank, according to the Coast Guard, while the firefighters tried to extinguish the fire.
The "Conception" had started from the coastal town of Santa Barbara for a scuba diving trip along the Channel Islands. It was supposed to have re-entered the harbor on Monday evening. The islands off Santa Barbara are a popular destination for divers and sailors.
