SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — Vicki Moore lost both her husband of 35 years and her daughter when a diving boat caught fire off the coast of Southern California early Monday morning.
Her husband, Scott Chan, was a teacher at American High School in Fremont where he taught AP physics.
Moore also lost her daughter in the fire, 26-year-old Kendra Chan.
Her daughter attended Mountain View High School, and later, UC Davis.
Moore says Kendra had a passion for coastal waters and loved to travel.
She says it gives her a little bit of peace knowing her husband and daughter died pursuing one their shared passions, though she knows her path ahead is a difficult one.
“It’s shocking, absolutely shocking,” Moore said. “Who in their right mind could have expected anything like this to ever happen?”
Moore recalled diving years ago on the same boat that caught fire.
“No one would’ve expected any problems,” she said.
She says her and her family are shocked.
“They just lived life to the fullest,” Moore said. “They loved nature. They loved the outdoors. They loved to explore. They were curious and just such amazing people.”
Moore says she’s still working to process what’s happened, but says it’s a huge loss in so many ways.
Prior to become a teacher, Chan was a hardware engineer and graduated from Stanford.
The boat, named Conception, caught fire near the Channel Islands around 3 a.m. Monday.
Thirty-nine people were on board the boat, including five crew members.
Five crew members were able to jump off.
Twenty bodies have been recovered so far.