Authorities recovered the body of a male worker reported missing after two explosions and a fire at a New York cosmetics factory left 30 to 35 people injured, including seven firefighters caught in the second blast, officials said Monday.
Firefighters work at the scene of of a fire Monday, Nov. 20, 2017, at the Verla International cosmetics factory on Temple Hill Road in New Windsor, N.Y. Authorities say two explosions and a fire at the cosmetics factory in the Hudson Valley have left numerous people injured, including firefighters caught in the second blast. (Jerry Barao via AP)
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Authorities recovered the body of a male worker reported missing after two explosions and a fire at a New York cosmetics factory left 30 to 35 people injured, including seven firefighters caught in the second blast, officials said Monday.
"A deceased male employee was recovered from the plant fire at approximately 7:40 p.m.," Orange County spokesman Justin Rodriguez said in a statement Monday night. He gave no additional details.
Up to 35 people were being treated for injuries, including seven firefighters, most of them from the nearby city of Newburgh, Town Supervisor George Green said. Two of the firefighters were taken to the burn unit at Westchester Medical Center, he said. None of the injuries appear to be life-threatening.
The federal agency also cited inadequacies relating to respirator protection for workers and the maintenance of exit routes. The company agreed to pay $41,000 in penalties.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo said state emergency response teams have been sent to the factory. State personnel dispatched included homeland security staffers, state police, environmental conservation enforcement officers and health department technicians, the Democratic governor said. The state also will investigate working conditions and regulatory compliance at the plant.
"A deceased male employee was recovered from the plant fire at approximately 7:40 p.m.," Orange County spokesman Justin Rodriguez said in a statement Monday night. He gave no additional details.
Police said the first explosion occurred around 10:15 a.m. Monday at the Verla International cosmetics factory in New Windsor, about an hour's drive from New York City. Firefighters who responded were inside when the second explosion occurred around 10:40 a.m.
Firefighters work at the scene of a factory fire in New Windsor, N.Y., Monday, Nov. 20, 2017. Authorities say two explosions and a fire at the Verla International cosmetics factory in the Hudson Valley about an hour north of New York City have left multiple people injured, including firefighters caught in the second blast. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Up to 35 people were being treated for injuries, including seven firefighters, most of them from the nearby city of Newburgh, Town Supervisor George Green said. Two of the firefighters were taken to the burn unit at Westchester Medical Center, he said. None of the injuries appear to be life-threatening.
There was no word on a cause of the blaze, which fire crews and hazardous materials teams were battling into the night.
Verla was cited for nine occupational safety violations earlier this year, according to records on the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's website. One was related to problems with the handling of flammable and combustible liquids.
Firefighters work at the scene of a factory fire in New Windsor, N.Y., Monday, Nov. 20, 2017. Authorities say two explosions and a fire at the Verla International cosmetics factory in the Hudson Valley about an hour north of New York City have left multiple people injured, including firefighters caught in the second blast. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
The federal agency also cited inadequacies relating to respirator protection for workers and the maintenance of exit routes. The company agreed to pay $41,000 in penalties.
Television video from Monday's explosions showed thick, black smoke spewing from a section of the roof of the sprawling facility, which includes manufacturing and warehouse buildings. Workers milled about a parking lot while fire crews looked on.
"It's still an active fire scene," Green said, adding that the flames were "knocked down pretty well at this point."
Firefighters work at the scene of a factory fire in New Windsor, N.Y., Monday, Nov. 20, 2017. Authorities say two explosions and a fire at the Verla International cosmetics factory in the Hudson Valley about an hour north of New York City have left multiple people injured, including firefighters caught in the second blast. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Gov. Andrew Cuomo said state emergency response teams have been sent to the factory. State personnel dispatched included homeland security staffers, state police, environmental conservation enforcement officers and health department technicians, the Democratic governor said. The state also will investigate working conditions and regulatory compliance at the plant.
"Following today's chemical explosion, I am directing a multi-agency investigation to get to the bottom of what happened and review compliance with state labor and environmental laws," he said in a statement.
Firefighters work at the scene of of a fire Monday, Nov. 20, 2017, at the Verla International cosmetics factory on Temple Hill Road in New Windsor, NY. Authorities say two explosions and a fire at the cosmetics factory in the Hudson Valley have left numerous people injured, including firefighters caught in the second blast. (Allyse Pulliam/Times Herald-Record via AP)
The factory is about a half-mile from the town hall and police station in New Windsor, on the Hudson River's west bank, 55 miles (88 kilometers) north of New York City. The 37-year-old New Windsor-based company's website says the products it makes include nail polish, perfumes, lotions and other products.
The company's phone number wasn't working. An email sent to the company wasn't answered.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A federal judge in Los Angeles on Thursday sentenced a scuba dive boat captain to four years in prison and three years supervised release for criminal negligence after 34 people died in a fire aboard the vessel.
The Sept. 2, 2019, blaze was the deadliest maritime disaster in recent U.S. history, and prompted changes to maritime regulations, congressional reform and several ongoing lawsuits.
Captain Jerry Boylan was found guilty of one count of misconduct or neglect of ship officer last year. The charge is a pre-Civil War statute colloquially known as seaman’s manslaughter. It was designed to hold steamboat captains and crew responsible for maritime disasters.
Family members pleaded with U.S. District Judge George Wu to give Boylan the maximum 10-year sentence in an impassioned hearing. Many cried, and Robert Kurtz, father of the sole deckhand killed, Alexandra Kurtz, brought a small container with him up to the lectern to address Boylan and the court.
“This is all I have of my daughter,” he said.
Yadira Alvarez is the mother of 16-year-old Berenice Felipe, who volunteered at an animal shelter and dreamed of becoming a marine biologist, and was the youngest of the 34 victims killed on the boat.
“He’s not a victim. He is responsible for my daughter not being here,” Alvarez said, while sobbing in court. “Can you imagine my pain?”
The Conception was anchored off Santa Cruz Island, 25 miles (40 kilometers) south of Santa Barbara, when it caught fire before dawn on the final day of a three-day excursion, sinking less than 100 feet (30 meters) from shore.
Thirty-three passengers and a crew member died, trapped in a bunkroom below deck. Among the dead were the deckhand, who had landed her dream job; an environmental scientist who conducted research in Antarctica; a globe-trotting couple; a Singaporean data scientist; and a family of three sisters, their father and his wife.
Boylan was the first to abandon ship and jump overboard. Four crew members who joined him also survived.
During the hearing, Boylan’s attorney read a statement aloud to the court in which he expressed his condolences and said he has cried every day since the fire.
“I wish I could have brought everyone home safe,” the statement said. “I am so sorry.”
In determining a sentence, Wu said he took into account Boylan’s age, health, the unlikelihood of recurrence and the need for deterrence and punishment.
He said while Boylan’s behavior was reckless, the guidelines for sentencing would not warrant a 10-year sentence.
“This is not a situation where the defendant intended to do something bad,” Wu said.
The defense had asked the judge to sentence Boylan to a five-year probationary sentence, with three years to be served under house arrest.
Boylan’s appeal is ongoing.
Hank Garcia, whose son Daniel was among the victims, said he is not a vengeful person but he and other family members don’t want something like this to ever happen again.
“We all have a life sentence,” he told the court. “We are having a life sentence without these people that we love.”
U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada said in a statement: “While today’s sentence cannot fully heal their wounds, we hope that our efforts to hold this defendant criminally accountable brings some measure of healing to the families.”
Thursday's sentencing was the final step in a fraught prosecution that’s lasted nearly five years and repeatedly frustrated the victims’ families.
A grand jury in 2020 initially indicted Boylan on 34 counts of seaman’s manslaughter, meaning he could have faced a total of 340 years behind bars. Boylan’s attorneys argued the deaths were the result of a single incident and not separate crimes, so prosecutors got a superseding indictment charging Boylan with only one count.
In 2022, Wu dismissed the superseding indictment, saying it failed to specify that Boylan acted with gross negligence. Prosecutors were then forced to go before a grand jury again.
Although the exact cause of the blaze aboard the Conception remains undetermined, the prosecutors and defense sought to assign blame throughout the 10-day trial last year.
The government said Boylan failed to post the required roving night watch and never properly trained his crew in firefighting. The lack of the roving watch meant the fire was able to spread undetected across the 75-foot (23-meter) boat.
But Boylan’s attorneys sought to pin blame on Glen Fritzler, who, with his wife, owns Truth Aquatics Inc., which operated the Conception and two other scuba dive boats, often around the Channel Islands. They argued that Fritzler was responsible for failing to train the crew in firefighting and other safety measures, as well as creating a lax seafaring culture they called “the Fritzler way,” in which no captain who worked for him posted a roving watch.
The Fritzlers have not spoken publicly about the tragedy since an interview with a local TV station a few days after the fire. Their attorneys have never responded to requests for comment from The Associated Press.
With the conclusion of the criminal case, attention now turns to several ongoing lawsuits.
Three days after the fire, Truth Aquatics filed suit under a pre-Civil War provision of maritime law that allows it to limit its liability to the value of the remains of the boat, which was a total loss. The time-tested legal maneuver has been successfully employed by the owners of the Titanic and other vessels, and requires the Fritzlers to show they were not at fault.
That case is pending, as well as others filed by victims’ families against the Coast Guard for what they allege was lax enforcement of the roving watch requirement.
After the sentencing Thursday, Susana Solano, who lost three of her daughters and their father on the boat, said she and the other family members hoped the judge would listen to their pleas.
“I’m extremely disappointed,” she said. “It’s just heartwrenching.”
Barbara Chan talks to the media about her brother, Scott and niece Kendra who were both killed in the Conception boat fire in front of the U.S. Federal Building in downtown Los Angeles on Thursday, May 2, 2024. A federal judge on Thursday sentenced the scuba dive boat captain, Jerry Boylan to four years in prison and three years supervised release for criminal negligence after 34 people died in a fire aboard the vessel. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)
United States Attorney Martin Estrada joined by law enforcement officials and victim's family talks to the media in front of the U.S. Federal Building in downtown Los Angeles on Thursday, May 2, 2024. A federal judge on Thursday sentenced a scuba dive boat captain Jerry Boylan to four years in prison and three years supervised release for criminal negligence after 34 people died in a fire aboard the vessel. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)
Barbara Chan who's brother, Scott and niece, Kendra who were both killed in the Conception boat fire holds a composite photo of the victims in front of the U.S. Federal Building in downtown Los Angeles on Thursday, May 2, 2024. A federal judge on Thursday sentenced the scuba dive boat captain, Jerry Boylan to four years in prison and three years supervised release for criminal negligence after 34 people died in a fire aboard the vessel. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)
Kathleen and Clark Mcllvain whose son Charlie died in the dive boat fire breakdown while talking to the media in front of the U.S. Federal Building in downtown Los Angeles on Thursday, May 2, 2024. A federal judge on Thursday sentenced the scuba dive boat captain, Jerry Boylan to four years in prison and three years supervised release for criminal negligence after 34 people died in a fire aboard the vessel. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)
Family members holding photos of their loved ones who died in the Conception dive boat fire leave the U.S. Federal Building in downtown Los Angeles on Thursday, May 2, 2024. A federal judge on Thursday sentenced the scuba dive boat captain, Jerry Boylan to four years in prison and three years supervised release for criminal negligence after 34 people died in a fire aboard the vessel. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)
Kathleen and Clark Mcllvain whose son Charlie died in the Conception dive boat fire talk to the media in front of the U.S. Federal Building in downtown Los Angeles on Thursday, May 2, 2024. A federal judge on Thursday sentenced the scuba dive boat captain, Jerry Boylan to four years in prison and three years supervised release for criminal negligence after 34 people died in a fire aboard the vessel. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)
Susana Solano-Rosas, left, talks to the media about her daughters who died in the Conception dive boat fire in front of the U.S. Federal Building in downtown Los Angeles on Thursday, May 2, 2024. A federal judge on Thursday sentenced the scuba dive boat captain, Jerry Boylan to four years in prison and three years supervised release for criminal negligence after 34 people died in a fire aboard the vessel. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)
Defendant Jerry Boylan, captain of the Conception, leaves federal court in Los Angeles, Thursday, May 2, 2024. A federal judge on Thursday sentenced Boylan the scuba dive boat captain to four years in prison and three years supervised release for criminal negligence after 34 people died in a fire aboard the vessel. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)
Kathleen Mcllvain sheds tears while holding a photo of her son Charlie while talking to the media in front of the U.S. Federal Building in downtown Los Angeles on Thursday, May 2, 2024. A federal judge on Thursday sentenced the scuba dive boat captain, Jerry Boylan to four years in prison and three years supervised release for criminal negligence after 34 people died in a fire aboard the vessel. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)
Kathleen and Clark Mcllvain whose son Charlie died in the dive boat fire breakdown while talking to the media in front of the U.S. Federal Building in downtown Los Angeles on Thursday, May 2, 2024. A federal judge on Thursday sentenced the scuba dive boat captain, Jerry Boylan to four years in prison and three years supervised release for criminal negligence after 34 people died in a fire aboard the vessel. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)
United States Attorney Martin Estrada joined by law enforcement officials and victim's family talks to the media in front of the U.S. Federal Building in downtown Los Angeles on Thursday, May 2, 2024. A federal judge on Thursday sentenced a scuba dive boat captain Jerry Boylan to four years in prison and three years supervised release for criminal negligence after 34 people died in a fire aboard the vessel. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)
Defendant Jerry Boylan, captain of the Conception, leaves federal court in Los Angeles, Thursday, May 2, 2024. A federal judge on Thursday sentenced Boylan the scuba dive boat captain to four years in prison and three years supervised release for criminal negligence after 34 people died in a fire aboard the vessel. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)
Defendant Jerry Boylan, captain of the Conception, left, followed by his defense team leaves federal court in Los Angeles, Thursday, May 2, 2024. A federal judge on Thursday sentenced Boylan to four years in prison and three years supervised release for criminal negligence after 34 people died in a fire aboard the vessel. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)
FILE - A photo collage of the 34 victims of the Sept. 2, 2019 fire aboard the dive boat Conception, at Santa Cruz Island, is held by a family member arriving at federal court in Los Angeles, Oct. 25, 2023. The captain of the boat is scheduled to be sentenced by a federal judge Thursday, May 2, 2024, on a conviction of criminal negligence. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)
FILE - Barbara Chan, whose brother Raymond "Scott" Chan was among the 34 victims of a fire on the scuba dive boat Conception, holds up a photo of the victims, Oct. 24, 2023, in Los Angeles. The captain of the boat is scheduled to be sentenced by a federal judge Thursday, May 2, 2024, on a conviction of criminal negligence. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun, File)
FILE - Defendant Jerry Boylan, captain of the Conception, right, arrives at federal court in Los Angeles, Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023. The scuba dive boat captain is scheduled to be sentenced by a federal judge Thursday, May 2, 2024, on a conviction of criminal negligence after 34 people died in a fire aboard the vessel nearly five years ago. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)
FILE - In this photo provided by the Ventura County Fire Department, VCFD firefighters respond to a fire aboard the Conception dive boat fire in the Santa Barbara Channel off the coast of Southern California on Sept. 2, 2019. A scuba dive boat captain is scheduled to be sentenced by a federal judge Thursday, May 2, 2024, on a conviction of criminal negligence after 34 people died in the fire aboard the vessel nearly five years ago. (Ventura County Fire Department via AP, File)
