A diving boat packed with recreational scuba divers caught fire near the Channel Islands, California. All 34 people who were sleeping below deck were trapped by the fire and perished. Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown confirmed that five crew members who were on the top deck were able to jump off the 75-foot vessel and take a small boat to safety. The owner of the boat, Truth Aquatics Inc., is relying on 19th Century Maritime Law to avoid liability to the victims. The boat owners pre-emptively filed a lawsuit under a pre-Civil War provision of maritime law that could protect them from potentially costly payouts to families of the dead. As of now, authorities have recovered 33 of the victims’ bodies and are working on confirming the identities with DNA testing, according to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office. Authorities have not yet confirmed the cause of the fire.