Channel Islands

5 Stories

Coroner: All Victims of Dive Boat Fire Died of Smoke Inhalation

34 who perished on Conception in 2019 suffered carbon monoxide poisoning

(Newser) - Coroner's reports for the 34 victims who died in a scuba boat fire off the Southern California coast last year show they died of carbon monoxide poisoning before they were burned, authorities said Thursday. All 33 scuba divers and one crew member died in the Sept. 2 fire aboard...

Before His Plane Vanished, Soccer Player's Message: I'm 'So Scared'

Officials are focusing search on possibility Emiliano Sala is on a life raft, but odds don't look good

(Newser) - For 15 hours on Tuesday, rescuers searched for any sign of a plane that was carrying Cardiff City soccer player Emiliano Sala and one other, with no luck—and now local police are saying chances of the missing fliers' survival is "slim." That's per the BBC , which...

California's Island Foxes Make Amazing Comeback

They're now off endangered species list

(Newser) - The little island foxes of California are back, maybe for good. Three fox subspecies found only on the state's Channel Islands have made a big comeback since they were placed on the endangered species list in 2004 and have just been removed. No mammal on the list has made...

'Purple Blob' on Ocean Floor Baffles Scientists

It could be a new species of sea slug

(Newser) - Scientists exploring the seafloor around California's Channel Islands have made a strange discovery. They just aren't exactly sure what it is. While studying deep-sea coral via a remotely operated vehicle, scientists on the research vessel E/V Nautilus noticed a "dark purple blob" with a pink center on...

Tusk of Rare Pygmy Mammoth Found on Calif. Island

Find may help solve extinction mystery

(Newser) - A tusk that may belong to a rare pygmy mammoth, a dwarf version of the giant elephant-like mammal that roamed the Earth thousands of years ago, has been found on Santa Cruz Island off California, reports the Los Angeles Times. The 4-foot-long tusk, more than 10,000 years old, was...

5 Stories