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Charging phone might have caused fatal dive boat blaze
A mobile phone or camera left charging overnight might have caught the fatal dive boat fire off the coast of California, which killed 34 people.
The US Coast Guard has issued a safety warning to commercial boat owners about the dangers of leaving devices lithium batteries charging without supervision while investigations into the cause of this month’s fire continue.
The National Transportation Safety Board has released a preliminary report, which confirms that an overheated battery is one of the possible cause of the blaze, which ripped through the boat, Conception.
The fire took hold below deck overnight as all occupants were asleep, and there is a possibility that a large number of devices may have been stacked up charging overnight.
The safety bulletin warned boat owners to ‘consider limiting the unsupervised charging of lithium-ion batteries and extensive use of power strips and extension cords’.
Meanwhile the NTSB claims all crew members were asleep when the fire took hold, which is a violation for liveaboard boats on open water.
That could lead to possible charges against the boat operator, Santa Barbara-based Truth Aquatics.
NTSB chairman Robert Sumwalt said a ‘roving watch person’ is required when the below deck bunks are occupied overnight.
The owner of Truth Aquatics had no immediate comment.
"For the integrity of this investigation, the operator of Truth Aquatics, Glen Fritzler, is not able to speak to the media at this point in time," said the firm’s lawyer Douglas Schwartz. "I can personally confirm that Glen, his family and his team are reeling from this tragedy and doing everything in their power to support the investigation into the cause and origin of this horrendous fire and find answers for the victims and survivors," he said in a statement on Thursday to ABC News.
Schwartz disputed the preliminary report’s finding that all crew members were asleep at the time of the fire.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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