LOS ANGELES: Local authorities confirmed Thursday that 34 people died in the dive boat fire off the Southern California coast early Monday.
Thirty-three bodies have been recovered. Search crews are still working to recover the remains of the last victim whose body had not yet been pulled from the water, said Santa Barbara County spokeswoman Gina DePinto.
The remains have to be identified through DNA testing. Names of the passengers have not been released by the authorities yet. The investigation into the cause of the deadly fire, which fully engulfed the ship in minutes, is underway from Tuesday.
Possible ignition sources include the electrical system, photography equipment, batteries, cameras and phones that were plugged in and charging when the fire broke out, said U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) member Jennifer Homendy. “We are not ruling anything out at this point,” she said.
The NTSB will release a preliminary report in 10 days on the cause, and a final report could take one to two years to release, Homendy said, noting that it will be a “very lengthy, detailed, comprehensive investigation.”
(Agencies)
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