Sinking of MV Conception
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 / 34.04750°N 119.73500°W | ||||
| Cause | Fire | ||||
| Outcome | (See Aftermath section) | ||||
| Deaths | 34 | ||||
| Non-fatal injuries | 5 | ||||
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The sinking of MV Conception occurred on September 2, 2019, after the 75-foot (23 m) dive boat caught fire and eventually sank off the coast of Santa Cruz Island, California, United States, killing 34 of the 39 aboard. The boat was anchored overnight at Platts Harbor, a small undeveloped bay on the island's north shore, when a fire broke out on the main deck shortly after 3 a.m. The 33 passengers and 1 crew member who were sleeping below the main deck were trapped by the fire and killed. The remaining 5 crew had sleeping berths on the top deck and were able to escape. The five survivors placed an initial mayday call to the Coast Guard and attempted to alert the people below deck, but all routes to the main sleeping area were blocked by fire, and they were forced to jump overboard. The surviving 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.
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.