‘Conception’ Coroner Reports Reveal Victims’ Attempt to Escape
Some Dive Boat Passengers Had Dressed Before They Were Overcome by Smoke
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.
