34 trapped on burning boat off California

Rescuers yesterday scrambled to reach as many as 34 people trapped below the deck of a burning commercial scuba-dive boat off the coast of California, US Coast Guard officials said. Many were feared dead.

Firefighters converged on the scene near Santa Cruz Island but the blaze and intense heat prevented them from breaching the hull of the 75-foot (23-meter) vessel to see if there were survivors, they said.