The crew of a dive ship that caught
fire and sank off the
California coast told a "harrowing story" of their failed attempts to save 34 people trapped below deck in a bunk room already engulfed in flames, investigators said on Thursday.
The five surviving crew members of the Conception, who were above deck when the blaze was discovered, said the already fierce flames prevented them from climbing down a narrow ladder into the bunk room or gaining access through a window.
"What's emerging .. is a harrowing story of the moments (after) the fire erupted on the vessel," National Transportation Safety Board member Jennifer Homendy told reporters at what she said would be the NTSB's final news conference in Santa Barbara, California.