Sinking of MV Conception
The sinking of MV Conception occurred on September 2, 2019, when the 75-foot (23 m) dive boat caught fire and eventually sank off the coast of Santa Cruz Island, California, United States. The boat was anchored overnight at Platts Harbor, a small undeveloped bay on the island's north shore, with 33 passengers and 1 crew member asleep below decks when a fire broke out shortly after 3 a.m. Five crew members, whose sleeping quarters were on the top deck, survived while everyone else on board died. The crew members were forced by the fire to jump overboard but not before placing an initial mayday call to the Coast Guard and attempting to alert the passengers. The crew retrieved the Conception's skiff and motored to a nearby boat where a second radio dispatch was made. The rescue and recovery operations were coordinated by the United States Coast Guard.
Conception at dawn on September 2, shortly after the fire was extinguished (photo by Ventura County Fire Department) | |||||
| Date | September 2, 2019 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time | Approximately 3 a.m. PDT UTC−07:00 | ||||
| Location | Platts Harbor, Santa Cruz Island, California, United States | ||||
| Coordinates | 34°02′51″N 119°44′06″W | ||||
| Cause | Fire | ||||
| Outcome | (See Aftermath section) | ||||
| Deaths | 34 | ||||
| Non-fatal injuries | 5 | ||||
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It is the worst maritime disaster in California since the sinking of the Brother Jonathan in 1865, and the deadliest in the United States overall since the USS Iowa turret explosion in 1989. It is also the deadliest transportation-related disaster in the United States since the 2009 Colgan Air Flight 3407 crash near Buffalo, New York.