Two Singaporeans are among 34 people believed to have died in a pre-dawn fire that engulfed a scuba-diving vessel off the Southern California coast on Monday, Sept. 2.

The names of two Singaporeans are listed on the passenger manifest of the diving boat, The Conception, according to the US authorities.

The two are Tan Wei, 26, a postgraduate student from UC Berkeley, and researcher Sunil Singh Sandhu, 46.

The US authorities are using DNA analysis tool to identify the 33 recovered bodies.

The brother of Tan has travelled to Santa Barbara, California, to wait for her remains to be identified.

All but one of the badly burned bodies have since been recovered.

The remains are being identified using a DNA analysis tool employed in war zones.

Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) is in touch with the next-of-kin of the two Singaporeans.

"It hurts, it will always hurt, but we will move on"

Cheerin Tan, 29, the sister of Tan Wei, announced in a Facebook post on Sept. 5 the death of her sibling.

She also wrote that her brother, Sejay Tan Sijie, has flown to the US to see through the paperwork and arrangements involved, while the family waits for the DNA test to be completed.

The post said:

Dear friends, it is with great sadness I announce the passing of my beloved little sister, Wei Tan. ? She was one of the victims in the unfortunate boat fire accident that happened in California on Sept 2. At the moment, my family is coping well while we wait for DNA testing to be completed. My elder brother, Sejay Tan, is currently on site in Santa Barbara to handle all paperwork and arrangements. Details on the ceremony will be provided later.

We sincerely thank all relatives and friends for your love and concern as we get through this difficult phase.

It hurts, it will always hurt, but we will move on...

Speaking to CNA, Tan's family, who are also avid divers, said that the family has accepted the news and "know the outcome when such accidents happen".

They also took comfort in the fact that Tan was doing something she loved in the final moments of her life.

The family described Tan as "a little bright star" and always "bursting with energy and joy".

"My whole life is gone"

The family of the other victim, Sunil Singh, did not know that he was going for a diving trip.

Unlike Tan, Sunil Singh only picked up diving recently.

Speaking to The New Paper, Sunil Singh's father, 77-year-old Sojit Singh, shared that the news came as a shock to him and that he thought it was a hoax initially.

The father said that he had nothing to worry about Sunil Singh as he has been a "brilliant child" who is "always smiling and never short-tempered".

The loss was devastating to the family.

Sojit Singh said: "My whole life is gone. I can never find another boy like him."

Investigations on the accident are still ongoing.

A preliminary investigation suggested that there were serious safety flaws aboard the vessel.

The 23m-long diving vessel was moored off the Santa Cruz Island when the fire broke out at 6.15pm Singapore time on Monday.

The boat had set sail for the Channel Islands in California last Saturday morning.

US news outlets reported that the five crew members fled in a lifeboat as they were topside and awake when the fire started.

The passengers sleeping below deck, including Tan Wei and Sunil, are feared to have died in the fire.

Top photo from Cheerin Tan's Facebook and Sanil Singh Sandhu's Facebook