Twitter/@VCFD_PIO(SANTA BARBARA, Calif.) — Rescue operations are underway for more than 30 people on a 75-foot boat on fire near Santa Cruz Island, California, Monday morning.
Five people have been rescued and 30 people are currently missing, the Santa Barbara Fire Department confirmed to ABC News.
“The vessel was reported as being on fire. The a group of crew members has been rescued (one with minor injuries) and efforts continue to evacuate the remaining passengers,” the Los Angeles office of the U.S. Coast Guard tweeted.
The Coast Guard added in another tweet that they launched “multiple rescue assets along with assets from local agencies.”
The Ventura County Fire Department public information officers said in a tweet that their department responded to the fire at about 3:30 a.m. They said the Coast Guard is “helping support rescue operations for people aboard a dive boat.”
The boat was drifting toward Santa Cruz Island, per the Santa Barbara Fire Department, and it was anchored when the fire started to burn.
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