SAN DIEGO, Calif. (AP) — Eight people were killed when two migrant smuggling boats approached a San Diego beach in thick fog and one capsized in the waves, authorities said Sunday, -one of the deadliest human trafficking operations in the United States. .
A Spanish-speaking woman on one of the panga-style boats called 911 Saturday night to report that the other vessel had capsized in the waves off Black’s Beach, according to U.S. Petty Officer Richard Brahm.
“The woman who called said the boat that capsized had 15 people on board, but that was just an estimate,” Brahms said.
Crews from the Coast Guard and the San Diego Fire Department pulled the bodies of eight adults from the water, but heavy fog hampered the search for more victims.
San Diego Lifeguard Chief James Gartland said rescuers found the two overturned boats in shallow water near shore. About 23 people were on the two boats, he said.
No other victims were found in the water, and officials said some or all of the remaining passengers may have fled to the beach, about 15 miles (24 kilometers) north of downtown San Diego.
A Coast Guard cutter combed the area early Sunday, and a helicopter crew joined the search after the weather cleared by mid-morning.
Hundreds of maritime smuggling incidents occur each year, and Saturday’s incident was one of the deadliest for immigrants in the United States, Border Patrol spokesman Eric Lavergne said. In May 2021, an overcrowded boat carrying immigrants capsized and smashed into heavy waves along San Diego’s rocky shore, killing three people and injuring more than two dozen.
Daniel Eddy, deputy chief of operations for the San Diego Fire Department, said there is a long debris field on Black’s Beach that is jointly owned by the city and state.
Along the wide stretch of sand, also known as Torrey Pines City Beach and Torrey Pines State Beach, Pangas, small open boats with outboard motors frequently used in smuggling operations, often come ashore.
The surf was modest last Saturday, with waves of about 3 feet (about 1 meter), but Gartland said the area has hidden dangers.
“That area is very dangerous, even during the day. It has a series of sandbars and coastal currents so you may think you can land in the sand or walk in waist to knee deep water and think you can get out of the water safely but there are long holes on the shore . If you go into those holes, those rip currents will pull you along the shore and throw you back into the sea,” he told reporters at a news conference Sunday morning.
The nationalities of the passengers were unknown. Illegal crossings have increased under President Joe Biden, with many immigrants surrendering to Border Patrol agents and being released back into the United States to pursue their cases in immigration court.
A pandemic rule set to expire on May 11 prevents migrants from seeking asylum on grounds of preventing the spread of COVID-19, but enforcement fell disproportionately on Mexicans, Hondurans, Guatemalans and Salvadorans, as they were the only nationalities accepted by Mexico. Take it back
As a result, people from these four countries were more likely to try to avoid capture, knowing they could be deported under the public health rule known as Title 42 authority. Recently, Mexico began turning back Cubans, Haitians , the Nicaraguans and the Venezuelans at title 42.
Smuggling off the California coast has waxed and waned over the years, but it has long been a risky alternative for migrants to avoid heavily guarded land borders. Panga arrives from Mexico in the middle of the night, sometimes extending hundreds of miles north. Recreational boats try to blend in unnoticed with fishing and recreational boats during the day.
South of the US border, there are many secluded private beaches with gated entrances between tall buildings with magnificent ocean views, some only partially built because funds dried up during construction. Popotla, a fishing village where the narrow streets are lined with vendors selling a wide variety of local catch, is favored by smugglers for its large sandy beach and relatively gentle waves.
Associated Press writer Christopher Weber contributed from Los Angeles.
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