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Old 05-22-2020, 11:20 AM
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Arrow Autopsies of 34 who Died in Conception Boat Fire Offer Grim New Details

Autopsies of 34 who Died in Conception Boat Fire Offer Grim New Details
By: Richard Winton - The LA Times & Military.com - 05-22-20
Re: https://www.military.com/daily-news/...w-details.html

Photo link: https://images03.military.com/sites/...?itok=n0S7esb0
FILE - In this Sept. 2, 2019, file photo provided by the Santa Barbara County Fire Department, the dive boat Conception is engulfed in flames after a deadly fire broke out aboard the commercial scuba diving vessel off the Southern California Coast. (Santa Barbara County Fire Department via AP, File)

Within days of the dive boat Conception bursting into flames off the Channel Islands and killing 34 people, the Santa Barbara County coroner declared that the deaths were the result of smoke inhalation and that all died below deck.

But documents from the Santa Barbara Sheriff's coroner's operation released eight months after the disaster raise new questions about those final moments below.

Of the 33 passengers and one deckhand below deck, at least six were wearing shoes, boots or some kind of footwear when their bodies were discovered, according to the coroner's records.

One man was clutching a cellphone in his right hand. A woman was holding a blue flashlight and wearing brown slip-on shoes, according to a coroner's report.

The man with his silver cellphone was wearing denim pants with a black belt.

According to the coroner's records, he was wearing an unusual combination of footwear, one black sandal and one brown-black hiking boot for a left foot.

Some people in the diving world said the autopsy results raise questions about whether all the victims were asleep when the fire occurred.

Ben Wolfe, a veteran diver and retired fire captain, said he has never known on his weekend dive trips on the vessel for people to wear shoes in their bunks, especially tennis shoes.

The maritime disaster is under criminal investigation by the U.S. Coast Guard and FBI under the supervision of the U.S. attorney. It is also the subject of a probe by Maritime Board of Inspection and the National Transportation Safety Board.

A preliminary investigation by NTSB determined that the five crew was asleep in their berths on the top deck when the blaze broke out at about 3 a.m. despite a requirement that the vessel conducts a roving watch at night.

By the time the crew noticed, the galley and salon were engulfed in flames, with the main bunk room directly below in the belly of the boat. The only way for those below was through two exits through the galley.

Investigators have served search warrants on Truth Aquatics, the boat's operator.

In all 34 deaths, Dr. Manuel Montez, a forensic pathologist for the coroner's bureau declared smoke inhalation as the cause, citing the levels of carbon monoxide found in vials of blood recovered from the deceased.

Most of those killed had carbon monoxide saturation of 50% to 80%. But a few, like the woman with the flashlight, had less. Her test revealed more than 10% carbon monoxide after her body was recovered. Carbon monoxide binds with hemoglobin far better than oxygen, preventing the delivery of oxygen. Usually 50% is fatal, but small levels can be in some circumstances.

In one death, where divers recovered a spine and a pelvis and little else and no toxicology was possible, Montez still declared the death due to smoke inhalation, records show. In some cases, he found soot in the throat to support the smoke inhalation finding, records show.

Almost all suffered fourth-degree burns. A report noted "significant thermal burns to the bodies with limbs missing due to the intensity of the fire."

Some were in the water for a few days, as dives combed the wreckage in shallow water off Santa Cruz Islands and even found bodies a few hundred yards away in a cove.

This article is written by Richard Winton from The Los Angeles Times and was legally licensed via the Tribune Content Agency through the NewsCred publisher network.


Coats Guard Topics - https://www.military.com/topics/coast-guard
Re: https://www.military.com/daily-news/...w-details.html
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O Almighty Lord God, who neither slumberest nor sleepest; Protect and assist, we beseech thee, all those who at home or abroad, by land, by sea, or in the air, are serving this country, that they, being armed with thy defence, may be preserved evermore in all perils; and being filled with wisdom and girded with strength, may do their duty to thy honour and glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

"IN GOD WE TRUST"
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