Family of sole crew member who died in California boat fire sues dive boat operator

CBS/AP

The family of the lone crew member to die in a boat fire that killed all 33 passengers off the Southern California coast last year sued the vessel’s owners Monday in federal court. The lawsuit claims the owners of the Conception knew the boat was unseaworthy and that it lacked required smoke detectors, fire equipment and adequate emergency exits.

Alexandra “Allie” Kurtz, 26, an Illinois native living in California, was a new crew member at the time of the fire. She was the only crew member sleeping with the passengers in the berth below deck when the fire broke out in the middle of the night on Labor Day. At the time, the boat was anchored near an island off Santa Barbara.

“They were down there in those small bunks, those really small bunks … to have no escape … It was something that was playing in my head,” Domenic Selga, whose mother, stepfather, and three stepsisters all died in the fire, told CBS News. “It was just a complete nightmare.”  

Read the rest of the story on CBS News

Get Citizensjournal.us Headlines free  SUBSCRIPTION. Keep us publishing – DONATE