Conception dive boat

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Jury Convicts Boat Captain in 34 Deaths

Jerry Boylan, the first to jump ship, could be sentenced to 10 years in prison

(Newser) - A federal jury on Monday found a scuba dive boat captain was criminally negligent in the deaths of 34 people killed in a fire aboard the vessel in 2019, the deadliest maritime disaster in recent US history. The US Attorney's Office in Los Angeles confirmed Jerry Boylan was found...

4 Years After Dive Boat Tragedy, a Trial Begins

34 died on Sept. 2, 2019, after fire engulfed a scuba dive boat off Santa Barbara

(Newser) - By the time the scuba dive boat sank off the Southern California coast after catching fire, 34 people had been killed in the deadliest maritime disaster in recent US history. The Labor Day tragedy in 2019 spurred changes to maritime regulations, congressional reform, and civil lawsuits. Four years later, a...

Judge Rejects Indictment in Fatal Fire on Dive Boat

Prosecutors to seek appeal of ruling in case against captain

(Newser) - Update: Three years to the day after 34 people were killed in a fire aboard a dive boat anchored near Santa Barbara, a judge threw out an indictment charging the captain with manslaughter. US District Judge George Wu ruled Friday that the filing didn't specify that Jerry Boylan acted...

Investigators Share What They Know About Maritime Disaster

34 people died on the Conception in September 2019

(Newser) - After a 13-month effort, investigators say they won't be able to determine the definitive cause of the dive boat fire that killed all 33 passengers and one crew member in September 2019. The National Transportation Safety Board was told at a virtual hearing on Tuesday that though the Conception...

Coroner: All Victims of Dive Boat Fire Died of Smoke Inhalation

34 who perished on Conception in 2019 suffered carbon monoxide poisoning

(Newser) - Coroner's reports for the 34 victims who died in a scuba boat fire off the Southern California coast last year show they died of carbon monoxide poisoning before they were burned, authorities said Thursday. All 33 scuba divers and one crew member died in the Sept. 2 fire aboard...

'Seaman's Manslaughter' Charges Possible After Dive Boat Fire

NTSB says all 6 crew members were asleep

(Newser) - A California scuba dive boat was operating in violation of Coast Guard regulations when crew members were sleeping and a pre-dawn fire killed 34 people, leaving grieving families wondering if a required night watchman could have saved their loved ones. Thursday brought a disclosure from the National Transportation Safety Board...

Final Victim of Dive Boat Disaster Recovered

Coast Guard issues new safety recommendations

(Newser) - The body of the only victim still missing after the Labor Day diving boat disaster was recovered by divers Wednesday, authorities say. The bodies of 33 other victims who died in the fire off California's Santa Cruz Island were recovered earlier. "The Conception Incident Unified Command is relieved...

FBI Searches Offices of Dive Boat Owner

Agents also searched company's 2 other boats

(Newser) - Federal agents investigating the dive boat disaster that killed 34 people a week ago served search warrants Sunday at the headquarters of Truth Aquatics, the company that owned the Conception. Lt. Eric Raney with the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office tells the Los Angeles Times that agents from the...

Dive Boat Owner Sues to Avoid Liability After Fire That Killed 34

Truth Aquatics owns the Conception, which caught fire and sank off the California coast

(Newser) - Truth Aquatics, the owner of the Conception dive boat that caught fire and sank off the California coast Monday, sparked controversy when it filed a lawsuit seeking to avoid liability in the deaths of 33 passengers and one crew member in the tragedy. But the family that owns the company...

Crew Member Killed in Dive Boat Fire Dreamed of 'Being a Pirate'

Friends, family remember Allie Kurtz

(Newser) - Allie Kurtz gave up a job in the movie industry to live her dream of working on the water, and when she landed a job as deckhand on a scuba diving boat, she was thrilled. She was on that boat, the Conception, when it caught fire and sank Monday off...

2 Theories Emerge in Dive Boat Tragedy

Diver points to phone-charging station in galley; Conception designer thinks it began in bunk room

(Newser) - A crew member who escaped the Conception dive boat almost immediately suspected a galley charging station as the source of the blaze. Shirley Hansen, who assisted survivors of California's worst maritime disaster since the 1800s from her boat near Santa Cruz Island on Monday, says the crew member described...

Dive Boat Owner: Flames Made Fire Hoses Unusable
Dive Boat Owner: 'No Way'
Crew Abandoned Passengers
the rundown
Sep 4, 2019 2:48 PM CDT

Dive Boat Owner: 'No Way' Crew Abandoned Passengers

33 bodies have been recovered in California tragedy

(Newser) - Just one person remains missing in California's devastating dive boat fire, KEYT reports. Thirty-three bodies have been recovered in the Conception tragedy ; there were 33 passengers and six crew members aboard, and other than the five crew members who made it off the boat, everyone is presumed dead. Rapid...

5 Members of Same Family Among Dive Boat Fire Victims

Charter school students also presumed dead in Conception disaster

(Newser) - 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...

Couple: Crew Said Fire Made Passengers' Rescue Impossible

And more on the devastating Labor Day blaze aboard the Conception dive boat

(Newser) - The couple that rescued the five crew members who escaped the horrifying blaze aboard a California dive boat Monday say that the captain of the Conception was among the five, and he told them the rear escape hatch was engulfed in flames, making it impossible for the crew to get...

25 Confirmed Dead in California Boat Fire

Search for survivors will continue overnight

(Newser) - At least 25 people have now been confirmed dead in a horrific fire on a diving boat off southern California early Monday. Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Matthew Kroll says the search will continue overnight for nine people still missing in one of the worst maritime disasters in the state's...

Diving Vessel 'Was Totally Engulfed in Flames'
Diving Boat
Mayday Caller:
'I Can't Breathe'
the rundown
Sep 2, 2019 2:15 PM CDT

Diving Boat Mayday Caller: 'I Can't Breathe'

34 are missing after the Conception catches fire, sinks

(Newser) - The search continues—but four bodies have turned up since a commercial diving boat caught fire off the California coast Monday and sank with 34 people apparently on board, the AP reports. Passengers of the Conception were said to be trapped below deck as flames engulfed the 75-foot vessel. Ventura...

34 Feared Dead in Boat Blaze Off Calif.

Coast Guard has rescued only 5 after 75-foot boat catches fire off Santa Cruz Island

(Newser) - The US Coast Guard responded early Monday to a boat fire off the coast of southern California, and Fox News reports that at least 34 people aboard are feared dead in the flames off Santa Cruz Island. "We did rescue five individuals who are being transported ashore now, one...

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