Eight people died and more than two dozens went missing after a scuba diving boat caught fire and sank off the California coast.

Coast Guard officials said, eight people were dead and 26 were missing after a 75-foot commercial diving boat erupted in flames near Santa Cruz Island, just west of Santa Barbara in southern California.

The officials further said, the blaze and intense heat prevented them from breaching the vessel’s hull to search for survivors before the craft sank. A dense fog further complicated rescue efforts. Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown told a news conference that four bodies of victims have been recovered so far.