The Coast Guard says 25 bodies have been located and nine remain unaccounted for following a boat fire off the Southern California coast.

Lt. Cmdr. Matthew Kroll says Monday night authorities have recovered 20 bodies and discovered five more. Those five cannot be recovered due to unsafe conditions under the Conception, a dive ship that had been on a three-day scuba diving excursion to the Channel Islands.

The fire on the 75-foot dive boat Conception was located off the coast of Santa Cruz island. The initial distress call came in the 3am hour on Monday. Five crew members were able to escape. 

We get the latest.

Santa Barbara County has also set up a public information line for questions related to the boat fire: (833)-688-5551.

With files from the Associated Press.

Guests:

Ken Kurtis, scuba instructor and owner of Beverly Hills diving company, Reef Seekers; has traveled on The Conception boat and is familiar with their design

Capt. Walter Godfrey, Founder and president of Fire/Reconstruction Consultants, Inc., a company based in Cape Canaveral, FL that specializes in boat and ship fires and underwater investigations, where he is also senior fire and explosions investigator

Paul Bullock, former president of Paradise Dive Club which organizer recreational diving trips in the Channel Islands; has been aboard The Conception several times