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Santa Cruz Island: burning submersible "Conception" off the southern California coast in early September 2019
Photo: Santa Barbara County Fire Department / dpa
A fire on board the excursion boat »Conception« in September 2019 cost 34 people their lives.
The ship was on a three-day diving trip and anchored off Santa Cruz Island when a fire broke out at night.
The passengers sleeping in a cabin below deck were trapped in the flames and died.
Now the captain, who survived the fire with four other crew members, has to answer in court.
The 67-year-old Jerry Nehl Boylan from Santa Barbara, California is accused of "causing the deaths of 33 passengers and one crew member through his misconduct, negligence and neglect of duties," the Los Angeles prosecutor said on Tuesday (local time) With.
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Wreck of the »Conception« after the fire
Photo: National Transportation Safety Board / AP
The alleged misconduct of the captain had "turned a pleasant diving trip into a hellish nightmare" because the victims could not have escaped from the cabin, said prosecutor Nick Hanna.
The accusation: At the time of the fire, there was no mandatory night watch.
The crew had also not been adequately trained and not enough fire drills had been carried out.
If convicted, the captain faces a maximum sentence of ten years in prison for each of the charges.
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ala / dpa