Was the horrific fire aboard a California dive boat caused by a cellphone?
One of the five crew members who survived has reportedly told investigators the fire began in the galley, where cellphones and other devices were being charged overnight.
The boat's designer told the Los Angeles Times, "This had to have been, in my estimation, one of those lithium battery chargers."
Lithium batteries have been known to burst into flames without warning.
The U.S. Navy guidelines say "lithium cells and batteries ... shall be considered hazardous at all times."
Some charter captains make their passengers charge their devices out on the deck, not inside the cabin, where a fire can easily spread. And some charge their devices inside metal boxes, which can keep a fire contained.
Dr. Gerry Lazzareschi has dived on the Conception boat many times and says divers always have a lot of devices to charge on board.
“You had to wait your turn to get into the outlet,” he told Inside Edition. “Occasionally there was surge protector which multiplied the outlets, but that was the exception and not the rule.”
Meanwhile, the bodies of all but one of the 34 victims have been recovered as the search is continuing.
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