New ‘Conception’ Video Surfaces
Shows 24 Seconds in the Bunkroom
The evolving story of the Conception dive boat got another cupful of heartbreak Thursday morning when the Los Angeles Times broke the story that the FBI had a video recording from the bunkroom where 34 people died when a fire broke out on September 2, 2019.
Some family members of the victims who had viewed the video spoke with Times reporter Richard Winton about what they’d seen: Apparently 24 seconds long, the video showed smoke gathering along the ceiling and beginning to fill the room as a fire alarm sounds. The scene is calm initially but becomes increasingly desperate before cutting out.
The investigation reports state a fire had quickly spread in the galley salon overhead. The bunkroom was belowdecks, with the two ways out: a set of stairs and a narrow escape hatch, both ending at the galley engulfed in flames. The captain, Jerry Boylan, had sent a mayday call but had abandoned ship with the crew.
