Two Santa Barbara County residents, and a Ventura County resident are among the dead in the Channel Islands dive boat disaster.
Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown says Alexandra Kurtz of Santa Barbara and Wei Tan of Goleta died in the boat fire which destroyed the Santa Barbara based "Conception" on Labor Day. And, Kendra Chan of Oxnard is also among those who lost their lives.
At a news conference, an official with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms said a large scale investigative team arrived in Santa Barbara Friday. The team includes fire investigators, engineers, and other experts to help look at what led to the disaster.
Captain Monica Rochester, with the Coast Guard, says while salvage operations are underway on the remains of the 75 foot long boat, it will be a long, involved process. She says with the boat so badly damaged, and submerged under 60 feet of water, they will have to go slowly to safely remove it without damaging it further.
