SAN DIEGO — A small boat believed to be carrying migrants capsized early Monday off San Diego’s coast and left three individuals useless and 4 injured, whereas U.S. Coast Guard crews have been looking for 9 others, officers mentioned.
U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Chris Sappey mentioned it was unclear the place the boat was coming from earlier than it flipped shortly after dawn about 35 miles north of the Mexico border. He described the vessel as a panga, single or twin-engine open fishing boats generally utilized by smugglers.
“They were not tourists,” Sappey mentioned. “They are believed to be migrants.”
Migrants are more and more turning to the dangerous various provided by smugglers to journey by sea to keep away from closely guarded land borders, together with off California’s coast. Pangas go away the Mexican coast at nighttime, generally charting a whole bunch of miles north.
Officers had no different particulars about these on board, together with the three who died. It was additionally unclear if anybody made it to shore on their very own and left the realm. U.S. Border Patrol brokers have been aiding within the response efforts however the company didn’t specify how.
The 4 injured individuals have been taken to hospitals. The Coast Guard deployed a helicopter and boat to seek for the lacking.
Hikers and others at Torrey Pines State Seashore reported seeing a ship capsize close to the shore at about 6:30 a.m., mentioned Lt. Nick Backouris of the San Diego County Sheriff’s Division.
“A doctor hiking nearby called in and said, ‘I see people doing CPR on the beach, I’m running that way,’” Backouris mentioned.
Winds have been gentle within the space, with slow-rolling waves reaching about 6 ft, in accordance with Sebastian Westerink, a meteorologist with the Nationwide Climate Service workplace in San Diego. The water temperature was 63 levels, he mentioned.
A bulldozer moved the panga on the seashore because the search was underway. The picket dinghy that was over 20 ft lengthy had scuffed blue paint and picket planks for seats. Contained in the boat have been a pair of trainers, greater than a dozen life vests, an empty waterproof mobile phone bag and varied water bottles. Its engine was visibly broken.
In 2023, eight individuals have been killed when two migrant smuggling boats approached a San Diego seashore in heavy fog. One boat capsized within the surf. It was one of many deadliest maritime smuggling circumstances in waters off the U.S. coast.
