Los Angeles, Sep 3 (IANS) Eight victims have been confirmed dead and four bodies recovered by authorities on Monday, after a diving boat caught fire off the Santa Cruz Island in Southern California which had left 34 missing, said Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown at a press briefing.

The four bodies were identified as two adult males and two adult females, Brown told reporters.

He said rescue and recovery efforts have located four additional victims on the ocean floor near the vessel, and a dive team is working in the water attempting to recover their remains, the Xinhua news agency reported.

Five crew members on board were awake on the deck when the fire broke out, and they jumped into the water. They were rescued by a Good Samaritan boat called The Grape Escape, and transported to Ventura Harbor, according to Brown.

--IANS rs