Some people have died and rescuers were searching for 34 more after a fire broke out aboard a dive boat off the Southern California Coast.
US media reported that 34 people are missing with some fatalities, although emergency services are yet to confirm this.
The Daily Beast quoted Captain Brian McGrath of the Ventura County Fire Department as saying that there were deaths, but Mr McGrath said he could not give a number.
Lieutenant Commander Matthew Kroll of the US Coast Guard said five crew members sleeping on the 75-foot boat's top deck were rescued early Monday morning near Santa Cruz Island.
The island is about 90 miles from Los Angeles. One of the crew suffered minor injuries.
Shocking pictures taken by the Ventura Fire department show firefighters battling the blaze.
The Daily Beast quoted Mr Kroll as saying 34 passengers who were sleeping below deck have not yet been accounted for.
The Coast Guard has helicopters, small boats and a patrol cutter in the area for a search-and-rescue operation.
The boat was on a Labour Day weekend cruise taking divers to the Channel Islands off the coast of Southern California.
The vessel Conception was operated by Santa Barbara-based Worldwide Diving Adventures, which says on its website it has been operating such expeditions since 1972.
It was outfitted with dozens of small berths for people to sleep in overnight.
