After concluding a two-week examination of the charred wreckage of the Conception dive boat, investigators led by the National Response Team of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives have not determined what started the fire that killed 34 people off the Santa Cruz Island on September 2.
Image: Santa Barbara County Fire Department
After being raised from about 65 feet of water just off Santa Cruz Island, the burned hull was brought ashore and is being reconstructed in a facility at Port Hueneme. Similar to a commercial jet crash, the investigators are piecing together the remains of the vessel, in search of what caused the deadly fire.
Pieces of the boat have been sent to labs for additional testing, and investigators are poring through hundreds of documents seized from the boat’s operator, Truth Aquatics Inc., the official said. Some parts of the boat washed away when it was submerged.
Preliminary investigations have suggested the fire did not start in the engine room, and there appear to be indications that the origin was in the galley. On the morning of the fire, one crew member told a rescuer he thought the fire had originated with electronic devices charging in the galley, but investigators have not confirmed that theory.
The cause ultimately will be ruled as accidental, incendiary — meaning it was deliberately set — or undetermined. Authorities have said there is no indication the fire was arson.