The Conception scuba diving boat caught fire off Santa Cruz Island, about 90 miles from Los Angeles
The US coast guard has released the clip following Monday’s tragedy, with many of the bodies still trapped in the wreckage or in the ocean.
Search and rescue teams have only been able to remove 20 bodies from the charred remains of the 75ft Conception following the blaze early on America’s Labor Day holiday.
None of the 14 victims initially classified as missing are thought to have survived the fire.
The victims range in age from 17 to 60, but few details have been released about them so far.
The five survivors, including the boat’s captain and four crew members, were above deck when the blaze broke out at about 3.15am and escaped in an inflatable boat.
It has emerged that during the terrifying tragedy the captain sent a frantic distress call telling rescuers: “They can’t get off, there’s no escape hatch,” as the boat caught fire off the southern Californian coast.
The Conception, which launched in 1981, had embarked for California’s Channel Islands on Saturday morning with 39 people on board.
Santa Barbara County Sheriff, Bill Brown, told reporters: “There were several other victims that were seen by the divers – between four and six – that are still between the wreckage, but due to the position of the boat they were unable to be recovered before nightfall.”
“Today, efforts will be made to stabilize the boat so that divers can safely enter it, search it and recover additional victims,” he said.
Surviving crew members sought refuge on a fishing boat moored a few hundred feet away, banging on the side to alert Bob Hansen and his wife, who were sleeping on board.
A crew member who was among one of the victims was apparently sleeping below deck with the passengers at the time.
National Transportation Safety Board member Jennifer Homendy said 16 investigators were already assigned to the investigation, including specialists in operations, engineering, survival
factors and fire analysis.
Emergency workers plan to use DNA analysis to help identify the 20 bodies recovered so far.
Most of the victims are from the Santa Cruz or San Jose area, the authorities have said.
A memorial to the victims in Santa Barbara alongside a dock where the ship was usually docked has been growing, as the tight-knit boating community was left reeling from the tragedy.
Flowers have been weaved into a wood and wire fence as part of the makeshift memorial, with flowers and candles.
An audio recording of a desperate call made to the US Coast Guard as flames engulfed the boat offered a glimpse into that terror as a man could be heard pleading for help.
“Mayday, Mayday, Mayday!” he can be heard shouting, in the garbled recording of the call.
“That’s a distress, this is the Coast Guard Sector Los Angeles on channel 1-6, what is your position … and number of persons on board? Over,” the dispatcher answered.
“Twenty-nine. Twenty-nine POB,” said the man, using the abbreviation for “people on board” a vessel. “I can’t breathe! … Twenty-nine POB.”
The dispatcher requested the GPS location of the vessel at least twice more, but the caller apparently was unable to respond.
