The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office has released the final coroner’s reports for the 34 victims of the Conception diving boat disaster . The chartered vessel sank in the middle of the night on September 2, 2019, after catching fire off Santa Cruz Island. All 33 of its passengers and one crew member were killed in California’s deadliest maritime incident since 1865. The captain and four crew members survived.
Smoke inhalation was listed as the cause of death for all 34 victims, “which created lethal levels of carbon monoxide in their blood,” said Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Lt. Erik Raney. The extensive fourth- and fifth-degree burns found on their bodies occurred post-mortem, he said. DNA and tattoos were used to make most of the identifications.
Details from the reports suggest some of the passengers had attempted to escape the Conception’s below-deck bunk room before they were overwhelmed by the smoke or carbon monoxide of the fast-moving fire. Recovery divers found one victim still clutching a cell phone. Another held a flashlight. Many of the passengers were wearing shoes or sandals. Others wore jackets.