Wei Tan Dies in Diving Boat Fire near Santa Cruz Island [Santa Barbara, CA]

Evidation Health’s Data Scientist Wei Tan Killed in Santa Barbara County Boat Fire

 
SANTA BARBARA, CA (September 9, 2019) – After a diving boat fire early last Monday near Santa Cruz Island, police identified a fatal victim as Wei Tan.
 
According to People, 26-year-old Tan had just received her Master of Engineering degree from U.C. Berkeley in June. Four months ago, she began to work as a data scientist with Evidation Health in Santa Barbara. She was an avid diver who got her certification when she was 17.
 
Flames engulfed the 75-foot diving vessel at approximately 3:00 AM on Labor Day off the coast of Southern California. 39 people, including six crew members, were on board during the accident. Five crew members escaped the fire. However, the 33 passengers and one crew member in the lower deck were trapped. The boat sank four hours later and as of Wednesday afternoon, search teams recovered 33 bodies. On Friday, Santa Barbara County Sheriff Office issued a result of their preliminary examination revealing that the victims died of smoke inhalation rather than burns.
 
The 31 other victims were identified as: Neal Baltz, Patricia Beitzinger, Kristy Finstad, Evanmichel Quitasol, Nicole Quitasol, Angela Quitasol, Fernisa Sison, Michael Storm Quitasol, Allie Kurtz, Raymond Scott Chan, Kendra Chen, Steve Salika, Tia Salika, Diana Salika, Berenice Felipe Alvarez, Mike Kohls, Charles McIlvain, Marybeth Guiney, Lisa Fiedler, Daniel Garcia, Yulia Krashennaya, Kristian Takvam, Adrian Dahood-Fritz, Andrew Fritz, Vaidehi Campbell, Kristian Takvam, Justin Dignam, Kaustubh Nirmal, Sanjeeri Deopujari, Ted Strom and Sunil Singh Sandhu.
 
On Sunday, authorities served search warrants at Truth Aquatics’ offices, the Southern California company that owned the diving vessel. No other details were released as of this time. The cause of the fire is still currently under investigation by the Santa Barbara County Fire Department.

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Sweet Lawyers sends our sincerest condolences to the loved ones of Wei Tan during this tragic time.

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If you lost a loved one in this tragic incident, you can reach out to Sweet Lawyers. We have over 40 years of experience in the legal field. As a result, we know what it takes to win your wrongful death case. We will fight to help you achieve the justice and compensation that your family deserves. Call us today for a free consultation at (800) 674 7852 and speak to an experienced legal professional in your area. In addition, contact us 24 hours a day and seven days a week.