5 Members of Same Family Among Dive Boat Fire Victims

Charter school students also presumed dead in Conception disaster
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 4, 2019 3:42 AM CDT
Dive Boat Victims Include Family of 5
A memorial for the victims of the Conception vessel is seen outside of the Sea Landing at Santa Barbara Harbor in Santa Barbara, Calif., Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2019.   (AP Photo/Christian Monterrosa)

Five members of a California family are among the 34 people dead or presumed dead in Monday's devastating fire on a diving boat off Santa Cruz Island. Susana Rosas says her three daughters—Evanmichel Solano Quitasol, Nicole Storm Quitasol, and Angela Rose Quitasol—were on the Conception, along with their father, Michel Storm Quitasol, and stepmother Fernisa Sison, NBC reports. Rosas' husband says the sisters were on the trip to celebrate their father's birthday. Kristy Finstad, a Santa Cruz marine biologist and diving instructor, is also believed to have died in the disaster, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. The 41-year-old was the co-owner of Worldwide Diving Adventures, the company that chartered the Conception for a Labor Day weekend diving trip.

High school physics teacher Scott Chan was on board with his daughter, a spokesman for the Fremont Unified School District says. The Pacific Collegiate School in Santa Cruz, a public charter school for grades 7 through 12, says some of its students were on board, the AP reports. Authorities ended the search for survivors Tuesday, with around 20 bodies recovered. One crew member and all 33 passengers are presumed dead. Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown says he has been told the victims ranged from teenagers to people in their 60s, and most of them were California residents. He says a rapid DNA analysis tool used after last year's California wildfires will be used to identify the victims. (Crew members told rescuers that the fire made it impossible to get below decks to save passengers.)

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