OXNARD, Calif. – A fire raged through a boat carrying recreational scuba divers anchored near an island off the Southern California coast early Monday, leaving at least eight people dead and hope diminishing that any of the 26 people still missing would be found alive.
Five crew members escaped by jumping off the boat and taking refuge on an inflatable boat.
Rescuers recovered four bodies from the waters just off Santa Cruz Island and spotted four others on the ocean near where fire-raged boat sank. They were continuing to search for survivors, but Coast Guard Capt. Monica Rochester cautioned that it was unlikely anyone else would be found alive.
“We will search all the way through the night into the morning, but I think we should all be prepared to move into the worst outcome,” she told an afternoon news conference.
The four bodies plucked from the ocean about 90 miles northwest of Los Angeles all had injuries consistent with drowning, said Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Matthew Kroll.