US boat captain gets 4 years jail over 2019 fire that killed 34, including 2 Singaporeans [Video]

LOS ANGELES – The captain of a dive boat that caught fire off the coast of Southern California in 2019, killing all 33 of its passengers and a crew member, was sentenced on May 2 to four years in prison after a lengthy hearing that included emotional testimony from relatives of the victims.

A federal jury in November found the captain, Jerry Nehl Boylan, guilty of misconduct or neglect of a ship officer, a crime also known as “seaman’s manslaughter”.

Boylan, 70, of Santa Barbara, California, was the captain of the Conception, a commercial scuba diving vessel, when a fire broke out in the early hours of Sept 2, 2019, while the ship was anchored near Santa Cruz Island, according to prosecutors.

Boylan and four other crew members were able to escape the fire, but the 33 passengers who were sleeping below deck died, prosecutors said. One crew member was also killed. Prosecutors said Boylan failed to try to save them.

US District Judge …