A boat with illegal immigrants capsized near San Diego: 4 dead, more than 20 injured

Four people are dead and more than twenty have been rushed to hospitals after a ship capturing smuggling overturned off the coast of San Diego on Sunday morning, May 2. It is reported by CNN.

Photo: Shutterstock

San Diego Fire and Rescue Department spokesman Monica Muñoz told CNN that the ship capsized at Cabrillo National Monument in Point Loma at about 10:27 am (13:27 pm ET).

James Gartland, San Diego's chief lifeguard, told reporters that the boat appeared to have hit a reef, crashed, and 30 people were "out of the boat."

“This was a massive rescue operation that turned into a high-casualty incident,” Gartland said.

By the time first responders arrived, the boat, a cruiser with a 40-foot (12-meter) cabin, was in pieces, said Lt. Rick Romero of San Diego Fire Rescue.

There were 30 people on the boat, Romero said. Most of them made it to the coast on their own, six people were rescued from the water after being blown back into the sea.

“Our goal was to rescue everyone we could,” he said, adding that a Navy member who was out with his family was also trying to rescue people in the water.

Three dead after suspected migrant boat capsizes off San Diego in the US pic.twitter.com/Bi8kBiRNK9

- The National (@TheNationalNews) May 3, 2021

“The conditions were pretty rough - 5-6 feet of surf, windy, cold, water about 1,5 degrees (1,8 C), so hypothermia sets in pretty quickly,” Romero said.

The San Diego Fire and Rescue Authority said they responded to the incident "with the Federal Fire Service, the US Coast Guard and other local agencies."

On the subject: Hundreds of criminals illegally cross the US border, including rapists and murderers

“From our perspective, everything points to this being a smuggling vessel that was being used to smuggle migrants into the United States,” said Jeff Stevenson, Border Patrol Chief and Agent for the San Diego Sector of U.S. Customs and Border Protection. .

Firefighters said more than 20 people were taken to local hospitals.

Officials said the man allegedly driving the boat was in custody.

The US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has stepped up patrols to deter smugglers.

“Recently, we have seen a sharp increase in maritime smuggling attempts,” said Chief Patrol Agent Aaron Heitke of CBP's San Diego Sector. “Illegal sea crossings are inherently dangerous, and we have seen too many of them go from risky to tragic, with smugglers sacrificing the safety of those on board for profit.”

# BREAKING: 3 killed, 27 hospitalized after boat capsizes off the coast of San Diego, during human smuggling operation.

LINK TO UPDATES: https://t.co/JQhhZqMmTm

LINK TO UPDATES: https://t.co/OubqqQuj5Y pic.twitter.com/DGGo0Oflxx

- Preston Phillips (@PrestonTVNews) May 2, 2021

Stevenson told reporters that in the fiscal year ending last September, detentions of smugglers at sea increased 92% over the previous year.

“We've seen pretty steady growth this year as well,” he said. “It will probably be at least equal to what it was last year by the end of the year.”

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Sunday's incident also follows the arrest of 21 people off the coast of San Diego early Thursday morning, April 29, according to another CBP press release. According to the US Coast Guard, this group was found in a panga, a small open boat often used to operate off the coast of Mexico or Central America.

According to the CBP, those arrested included 15 men and six women who were Mexican citizens and did not have legal status to enter the United States. Two suspected smugglers will be prosecuted.

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