The captain of a scuba diving boat, which caught fire last year near the California coast, resulting in the death of 34 people, was on Tuesday charged with manslaughter. 

He has been charged with 34 counts of manslaughter, one for each victim, AFP reported. 

The worst maritime disaster in modern California history, the fire broke out while all six crew members and 33 passengers were asleep. The cause of the fire is still unknown. 

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The captain, 67-year-old Jerry Nehl Boylan, of the Conception “was responsible for the safety and security of the vessel, its crew and passengers”, a federal jury said.

Boylan was charged with 34 counts of manslaughter because of “his misconduct, negligence and inattention to his duties”, a statement from the central California prosecutor’s office said.

The statement also criticises Boylan for not appointing a night watchman, as required by federal law, and for not conducting training and evacuation drills for responding to emergency situations such as a fire.

The fire broke out on September 2, and five crew members attempted to reach the one crew member and 33 passengers asleep in the lower deck, but abandoned ship when they failed to open a forward window and were overwhelmed by smoke. 

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The flames onboard the 75-foot (22 metre) vessel were so intense that firefighters were unable to board, and the boat sank soon after. 

The boat was on a three-day diving excursion around the Channel Islands, off the coast of Santa Barbara in southern California.

The blaze broke out on the last day of the trip, as the boat was anchored off Santa Cruz Island.

“As a result of the alleged failures of Captain Boylan to follow well-established safety rules, a pleasant holiday dive trip turned into a hellish nightmare as passengers and one crew member found themselves trapped in a fiery bunkroom with no means of escape,” said US attorney Nick Hanna.

Boylan was charged under a relatively uncommon criminal provision specific to seamen and people in related fields that opens the category to prosecution for negligence resulting in death.

If convicted, Boylan faces a 10-year prison sentence per charge of manslaughter.