Four people were killed and four others hospitalized after a wooden boat believed to be carrying migrants toward the United States capsized in stormy waters off San Diego, the Coast Guard said Saturday. The vessel, identified as a wooden skiff often used in maritime smuggling, overturned late Friday near Imperial Beach as a strong storm system moved across Southern California.
U.S. Border Patrol agents discovered the boat in the surf shortly before midnight. Six people were found on the shoreline; one died at the scene, while another was pulled from beneath the vessel and rescued. Roughly two hours later, authorities received a separate report of a person struggling in the water near Imperial Beach Pier. A Coast Guard crew responded and recovered three people from the ocean, all of whom were pronounced dead.
Officials said search efforts were continuing Saturday as crews looked for additional passengers who may have been aboard. Several survivors identified themselves as Mexican nationals, while others remained unidentified. One person taken into custody was transferred to the Department of Homeland Security.
Coast Guard Capt. Robert Tucker, commander of Sector San Diego, said the wreck underscored the deadly risks for migrants attempting to reach the United States by sea in unstable vessels. The panga-style boat, typically a single- or twin-engine open fishing vessel, is frequently used by smugglers who operate under the cover of darkness to evade the heavily guarded land border.
Storm conditions intensified the danger as the region faced flash-flood and mudslide warnings throughout the weekend. Authorities said the incident reflects a broader trend of migrants turning to maritime routes despite a series of fatal accidents in recent years. In May, three people died when a panga capsized off the coast about 35 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. In 2023, eight migrants were killed after two smuggling boats approached a San Diego beach in heavy fog, with one capsizing in the surf. Federal prosecutors previously secured an 18-year sentence for a San Diego man who piloted an overloaded vessel packed with 32 migrants that broke apart in the surf in 2022, killing three and injuring dozens.
Globally, the U.N. agency for migration reported nearly 9,000 border-crossing deaths last year, marking a fifth consecutive annual record. The U.N. Missing Migrant Project estimates that more than 24,506 people have died or gone missing in the central Mediterranean between 2014 and 2024, though the actual toll may be far higher due to unrecorded cases.
AP
