- Four people are dead and over a dozen are injured after a boat capsized close to San Diego Sunday morning.
- The boat, which had at least 29 people onboard, was being used to smuggle migrants into the US and the man who was captaining the vessel has been taken into custody.
- The US Coast Guard was contacted early on Sunday by a commercial boat that was witnessing the vessel overturning on rocks off the shore of the Point Loma peninsula.
A recent news article published in The Guardian reveals that four were dead and captain was taken in custody as boat capsized near San Diego.
Footage from people on the shore
Footage from people on the shore show the small boat being tossed by the waves and people trying to swim to shore. Officials described the vessel as a “40-foot trawler-style boat” .
We continue to follow developing news out of San Diego where a boat has capsized, leaving three people dead. Crews rescued the remaining 27 injured passengers, who investigators believe are involved in a human smuggling operation. We'll have the latest tonight at 10 on @fox40 pic.twitter.com/fvYSiO42mm
— . (@bridgettebjorlo) May 3, 2021
What happened?
The crash left a “large debris field” of broken wood in the water on Sunday, according to the local fire department.
“There were people in the water drowning, getting sucked by the rip current,” Romero, a San Diego lifeguard lieutenant said, adding that officials were conducting CPR resuscitation on multiple people on the shore.
Other injuries sustained by the victims range from hypothermia to wounds from the boat’s capsizing.
Weather conditions made it difficult for rescuers to reach people in the water, with choppy waves and at least seven-foot swells off the shore.
Reports from US Coast Guard
As of Sunday night, the US Coast Guard has reported that 29 people who were onboard the ship have been accounted for.
It includes 24 people who are alive, four who have been declared deceased and one who is in critical conditions, according to a press release.
US Customs and Border Protection (CBP)
- Vessel used to smuggle migrants into the United States illegally.
- The man who was helming the boat is the person behind the smuggling operation.
- He has been taken into custody, and an investigation is under way.
CBP has not confirmed the nationality of those who were onboard the ship nor have authorities released any identifying information about those who did not survive the boat’s wreck.
Just two days before Sunday’s incident, CBP announced it would ramp up operations to intercept smuggling operations off the coast of San Diego after seeing “a dramatic increase” in the number of attempts to bring undocumented migrants to the US by sea.
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Source : The Guardian
