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Final victim of Conception boat fire located

conception memorial.jpeg
Posted at 4:50 PM, Sep 11, 2019
and last updated 2019-09-11 20:00:51-04

The Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office reports that search and recovery efforts were successful Wednesday in locating the last missing victim of the Conception dive boat fire.

Thirty-four people were killed when the boat caught fire and sank off Santa Cruz Island early Labor Day morning. Five crew members survived.

Sheriff's officials say DNA testing is still being conducted to confirm the identities of 7 of the 34 victims.

Most of the bodies were recovered last week, but the search for one remaining victim had to be suspended over the weekend because of poor weather conditions.

That search resumed Tuesday. Salvage efforts to raise the boat out of the water resumed Wednesday.

Multiple investigations have been launched into the cause of the deadly fire.