20 bodies recovered after California dive boat disaster

Los Angeles, United States — Twenty bodies have been recovered after a scuba diving boat caught fire and sank off the California coast, with between four and six additional victims spotted trapped in the wreckage, officials said Tuesday.

Search efforts were suspended Tuesday morning after no further survivors were found, coast guard captain Monica Rochester told a news conference. Five crew members were rescued following the disaster on Monday.

“Today we will begin the process of mapping DNA profiles of the 20 victims that we have recovered so far, so that they can be compared with family samples that will be collected commencing today and in the days to come,” said Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown.