A fire erupted on a boat carrying recreational scuba divers near an island off the Southern California coast early Monday, leaving at least eight people dead and 26 people still missing.
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. While the search continued for survivors, Coast Guard Capt. Monica Rochester said it was unlikely anyone else would be found alive.
The fire broke out aboard the vessel Conception around 3 a.m. off Santa Cruz Island, in the Pacific Ocean west of Los Angeles.
