Free Republic

Boats like the Conception, which caught fire around 3 a.m. on Sept. 2 and sank, are required to have a crewmember keep watch at night. The National Transportation Safety Board has been investigating the tragedy and released a two-page preliminary report that said five crew members were sleeping in their quarters behind the wheelhouse on the second deck and another below deck when the fire broke out. The report comes as investigators seek to determine the cause and try to recover the wreckage of the Conception from the bottom of the sea amid an ongoing criminal probe conducted by the...

<p>LOS ANGELES (AP) — Officials vowed to find what sparked the inferno aboard the dive boat Conception that killed 34 people in waters off Southern California but vital evidence may have gone down with the ship or drifted out to sea.</p>

At least 34 people were feared dead after a boat caught fire off Santa Cruz Island, California, early Monday morning, officials have confirmed. Fox affiliate KTTV earlier confirmed there were nearly three dozen fatalities, but Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr Matthew Kroll told Fox News the 34 people were unaccounted for from a commercial diving ship. The captain of the boat was helping with the rescue. Four other people were rescued. Lt. Cmdr Kroll later confirmed the ship sunk near the north shore of Santa Cruz Island after taking on water. At least 34 people were feared dead after a boat...

VENTURA COUNTY, California – The Ventura County Fire Department has confirmed 34 people have been killed in a boat incident off the Ventura County coast.