As the investigation continues into the deadlyCalifornia boat fireearlier this week, serious questions are emerging about the safety of the ship.
“It surprised me how small it was and how difficult it was to access,” she said, adding that she and the investigators also had difficulty finding a light switch.
“I definitely have concerns about the ability of those passengers being able to evacuate during a fire,” she added.
Although the NTSB has yet to release the findings of their investigation, which is still underway, several law enforcement sources told theTimesthat evidence points to several “serious safety deficiencies,” including that there was no “roaming night watchman” onboard, who could have kept a lookout for any danger.
During a press conference this week, Homendy also confirmed that investigators are looking into whether the crew and the passengers received adequate safety training.
Conception on fire.AP/Shutterstock
“What’s emerging from the interviews is a harrowing story of the moments before the fire erupted on the vessel,” Homendy said, adding that one crew member reported having “awoke to a noise” only to discover “flames erupting from the galley area.”
Although the crew member reported having attempted to open “the double doors of the galley” in order to try and rescue the passengers inside, “it was engulfed in flames at that time.”
Several crew members onboard also reportedly tried to rescue the passengers through the “front part of the vessel” but “could not get into the windows.”
“At that point due to heat, flames and smoke, the crew had to jump from the boat,” Homendy said, adding that after calling 911, some of the crew returned to the vessel to try and “rescue any survivors.”
AP/Shutterstock
In total, 39 people — 33 passengers and six crew members — were aboard the boat when it erupted in flames off the coast of Santa Cruz Island just after 3 a.m. on Monday. The 34 people who were sleeping below deck were trapped and killed, while five crew members — the only ones not below deck — survived.
“I’m numb,” said Glen Fritzler, the owner and operator of Truth Aquatics, in a phone interview withSpectrum News 1on Tuesday. “There were a lot of people that were on that boat that I knew personally, people that I had dealt with for decades.”
“Of all of the years I’ve been in this business, I’ve never seen or heard of anything like this,” Fritzler added. “It’s a complete tragedy. It’s horrible.”
According to News 1, the company is temporarily ceasing operations out of respect to the family.
“We all have so many questions at this point,” he told the outlet. “We need answers like the public needs answers.”
As news broke of the fire, speculation spread that the passengers were “locked” in the sleeping quarters after the dispatcher on thedistressing mayday callappeared to repeatedly use that term. However, at Tuesday’s press conference, Brown said that wasn’t the case.
“We are not ruling out any possible ignition sources,” Homendy said on Thursday.
source: people.com
