Might depend on where and how the fire started and where the people were. If it was an explosion that started it that could have killed or incapacitated them. If they were below deck and the fire prevented them from getting out would do it too but yeah if i could i would certainly hit the water before i burned to death.
34 people feared dead after boat catches fire off California's Santa Cruz Island
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Those on board were thought to be sleeping below deck when the fire broke out in the predawn hours. Authorities continued their search Monday for possible survivors as the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s coroner office prepared for a mass casualty incident.
Here is a transcript of the call:
Man, around 3:15 a.m.: “Mayday, mayday, mayday! … Conception … north side of Santa Cruz.” (He’s broken up by static.)
Coast Guard Sector Los Angeles-Long Beach dispatcher asks position and number of people on board.
Man: “I can’t breathe.” … (garbled)
Dispatcher: “You have 29 persons on board and you can’t breathe? What is your current GPS position?”
(Another man calls in who heard the distress call and is over by Anacapa Island.)
There’s some garbled space and back-and-forth for a few minutes as dispatchers try to reach anyone from the boat.
A boat caught fire off the Ventura County coast Monday morning, Sept. 2, 2019 near Santa Cruz Island and a rescue operation is underway.
One of the crew members from the dive boat that caught fire and sank is brought back to the U.S. Coast Guard station in Oxnard on Sept. 2, 2019. At least 34 people are missing after a dive boat caught on fire and sank off Santa Cruz Island on a dive trip. Five crew members who were awake and on deck survived.
Family members arrive at the Ventura County Coast Guard headquarters on Sept. 2, 2019 in Ventura, Calif.
U.S. Coast Guard Captain Monica Rochester talks to the media during a press conference on Sept. 2, 2019, in Ventura, Calif. At least 34 people are missing after a dive boat caught on fire and sank off of Santa Cruz Island on a dive trip. Five crew members who were awake and on deck survived.
A frantic man can be heard:“Vessel Conception! Vessel Conception! Vessel Conception!” …
Dispatch: “Your vessel is on fire? Is that correct? … Are you on board the Conception?”
Man: “Roger, there’s 33 people that’s on board the vessel that’s on fire. They can’t get off.”
Dispatch: “Roger, are they locked inside the boat? Roger, can you get back on board and unlock the boat, unlock the door so they can get off? Roger, you don’t have any firefighting gear, no fire extinguishers or anything?”
Dispatch: “Roger, is this the captain of the Conception?”
Man: “Roger”
Dispatch: “Was that all the crew that jumped off?”
Man: “Roger”
Dispatch: “Is the vessel fully engulfed now?”
Man: “Roger, and there’s no escape hatch for any of the people on board.”
Five crew members were already awake and jumped off the boat, which was 20 yards offshore of the north side of Santa Cruz Island, according to Coast Guard Capt. Monica Rochester.
The five crew members were rescued by a good Samaritan boat, the Grape Escape, according to the agency. Two of them sustained leg injuries.
Here is a transcript of the call:
Man, around 3:15 a.m.: “Mayday, mayday, mayday! … Conception … north side of Santa Cruz.” (He’s broken up by static.)
Coast Guard Sector Los Angeles-Long Beach dispatcher asks position and number of people on board.
Man: “I can’t breathe.” … (garbled)
Dispatcher: “You have 29 persons on board and you can’t breathe? What is your current GPS position?”
(Another man calls in who heard the distress call and is over by Anacapa Island.)
There’s some garbled space and back-and-forth for a few minutes as dispatchers try to reach anyone from the boat.
A boat caught fire off the Ventura County coast Monday morning, Sept. 2, 2019 near Santa Cruz Island and a rescue operation is underway.
One of the crew members from the dive boat that caught fire and sank is brought back to the U.S. Coast Guard station in Oxnard on Sept. 2, 2019. At least 34 people are missing after a dive boat caught on fire and sank off Santa Cruz Island on a dive trip. Five crew members who were awake and on deck survived.
Family members arrive at the Ventura County Coast Guard headquarters on Sept. 2, 2019 in Ventura, Calif.
U.S. Coast Guard Captain Monica Rochester talks to the media during a press conference on Sept. 2, 2019, in Ventura, Calif. At least 34 people are missing after a dive boat caught on fire and sank off of Santa Cruz Island on a dive trip. Five crew members who were awake and on deck survived.
A frantic man can be heard:“Vessel Conception! Vessel Conception! Vessel Conception!” …
Dispatch: “Your vessel is on fire? Is that correct? … Are you on board the Conception?”
Man: “Roger, there’s 33 people that’s on board the vessel that’s on fire. They can’t get off.”
Dispatch: “Roger, are they locked inside the boat? Roger, can you get back on board and unlock the boat, unlock the door so they can get off? Roger, you don’t have any firefighting gear, no fire extinguishers or anything?”
Dispatch: “Roger, is this the captain of the Conception?”
Man: “Roger”
Dispatch: “Was that all the crew that jumped off?”
Man: “Roger”
Dispatch: “Is the vessel fully engulfed now?”
Man: “Roger, and there’s no escape hatch for any of the people on board.”
Five crew members were already awake and jumped off the boat, which was 20 yards offshore of the north side of Santa Cruz Island, according to Coast Guard Capt. Monica Rochester.
The five crew members were rescued by a good Samaritan boat, the Grape Escape, according to the agency. Two of them sustained leg injuries.
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