Search warrants issued in California boat fire investigation
Investigators take blueprints, safety logs and employee information after executing a search warrant on the dive boat owner; William La Jeunesse has the details.
Federal investigators executed search warrants Sunday in the continuing probe into the deadly California dive boat fire that killed 34 people, officials said.
The feds conducted the raid in Santa Barbara, seizing boxes of evidence from Truth Aquatics, owner of the Conception which caught fire on Labor Day near Santa Cruz Island, CBS 2 Los Angeles reported Monday.
Fox News reported Monday that investigators seized blueprints, maintenance records and safety logs relating to the Conception.
“It’s par for the course,” Lt. Erik Raney of the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office said, according to the Ventura County Star.
The Conception was "entirely engulfed with flames" when the U.S. Coast Guard arrived on scene Monday. (Ventura County Fire Department)
CALIFORNIA DIVE BOAT OWNERS FILE LAWSUIT TO AVOID LIABILITY AFTER DEADLY FIRE
Members of the FBI, the ATF and the Coast Guard also searched Truth Aquatics' two other commercial dive boats, Truth and Vision, as part of the raid, Fox News reported.
The feds left after a 12-hour effort, according to reports.
The 34 people who were killed were sleeping below deck and perished when their escape route became blocked by fire, authorities said. The captain and four deckhands survived after jumping from the bridge into the water. The ship later sank.
All victims have been accounted for except one. The search for that victim’s body was suspended over the weekend due to high winds and rough seas, Raney said.
STATE-OF-THE-ART MILITARY TECH -- 'RAPID DNA' -- IS USED TO ID VICTIMS OF CALIFORNIA DIVE BOAT FIRE
FBI agents walk past a memorial for the victims of the Conception dive boat on the Santa Barbara Harbor, as authorities issue a search warrant for the Truth Aquatics' offices in Santa Barbara, Calif., Sunday, Sept. 8, 2019. (AP Photo/Christian Monterrosa)
"The dive teams are going to get together Monday to develop a plan. We're hoping they're back in the water on Tuesday," he said.
Coast Guard records show the Conception passed its two most recent inspections with no safety violations. Previous customers said Truth Aquatics and the captains of its three boats were very safety conscious.
People gather around a memorial for the victims of the Conception dive boat fire on the Santa Barbara Harbor in Santa Barbara, Calif., Sunday, Sept. 8, 2019. . (AP Photo/ Christian Monterrosa)
Authorities are focused on determining the cause of the fire and are examining numerous angles, including how batteries and electronics were stored and charged. They will also look into how the crew was trained and what crewmembers were doing at the time of the fire. The boat's design will also come under scrutiny, particularly whether a bunkroom escape hatch was adequate.
Two of the victims were identified as Raymond Chan, 59, of Los Altos, and his daughter Kendra Chan, 26, of Oxnard, a wildlife biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, according to the Star.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Kendra Chan’s mother, Vicki Moore, told the paper her daughter “was a beautiful person, inside and out, and an inspiration to everyone who knew her.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
