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Search Resumes For Final Victim Of Channel Islands Boat Fire; Salvage Operations Set To Restart

(Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office photo)
Salavage operations for the Conception were suspended because of rough seas for four days, but are expected to resume Wednesday

Conditions at sea improved enough Tuesday that divers could resume the search for the body of the one person still missing from the Labor Day diving boat fire in the Channel Islands, which killed 34 people. 33 bodies were recovered last week, but conditions became too rough over the weekend for the search to continue for the final remains.

Plans call for salvage operations to resume Wednesday.

The Conception caught on fire, and sank off the coast of Santa Cruz Island. It capsized, making the search for bodies even more difficult. Salvage crews were able to turn the boat upright, but it still remains on the sea floor about 60 feet from the surface.

The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office has released the names of five additional victims, all people from Northern California. The Coroner’s Office is still working with DNA samples to positively identify the last six bodies which have been recovered. Three of the 34 victims are from the South Coast.

Lance Orozco has been News Director of KCLU since 2001, providing award-winning coverage of some of the biggest news events in the region, including the Thomas and Woolsey brush fires, the deadly Montecito debris flow, the Borderline Bar and Grill attack, and Ronald Reagan's funeral. 
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