Hours afterthe tragic Labor Day fireon the Conception,Rob Loweshared his sympathy for the victims’ families and revealed he had been on board the diving boat “many times” before.
“My heart breaks for those onboard the Conception,” theParks and Recreationactor, 55, wrote on Twitter on Monday. “An unspeakable horror on a boat I’ve been on many times. My prayers and thoughts are with the families.”
The 75-foot Conception was some 20 yards off the northern coast of Santa Cruz Island, itself some 20 miles east of Southern California when the fire was reported shortly after 3 a.m. on Monday.
“The cause of the incident is under investigation and names are being withheld pending next of kin notifications,” the Coast Guard said on Monday.
Santa Barbara County Fire/ Twitter; Noel Vasquez/Getty Images
Ringo H W Chiu/AP/Shutterstock
According toNBC NewsandThe Associated Press, 25 bodies from the fire have reportedly been recovered. At least nine people are still missing as the search for survivors continues, NBC News reported. The Coast Guard did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for confirmation.
On Monday, Coast Guard Captain Monica Rochester warned families to “be prepared to move into the worst outcome.”
The survivors were the only ones awake when the blaze broke out while the passengers were asleep below deck.
“You couldn’t have asked for a worse scenario,” Santa Barbara Sheriff Bill Brown told reporters Monday.
Ventura County Fire Department/ Twitter
Christian Monterrosa/AP/Shutterstock
The Conception had been on a three-day Labor Day diving cruise for a local excursion company at the time of the fire,according to the website.
The National Transportation Safety Boardsaid it will investigate.
The Coast Guard spokeswoman reportedly said Monday that the Conception “has been in full compliance” and “we are working deliberately with the vessel owner-operator who is with us at the time.”
source: people.com
