California dive boat captain charged with manslaughter in maritime disaster

FILE PHOTO: Rescue personnel return to shore with the victims of a pre-dawn fire that sank a commercial diving boat off the coast of Santa Barbara, California, U.S., September 2, 2019. REUTERS/Kyle Grillot/File Photo

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The captain of a dive boat that caught fire and sank off the California coast in 2019, killing 34 people in one of the state's deadliest maritime disasters, was indicted on Tuesday on federal manslaughter charges, U.S. prosecutors said.

Each of the 34 seaman's manslaughter counts returned against Jerry Nehl Boylan, 67, of Santa Barbara, carries a statutory maximum penalty of 10 years in prison if he is convicted, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office in Los Angeles.