4 dead after panga boat capsizes off Southern California coast
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Four people died after a panga boat capsized off the San Diego County coast early Saturday, and at least one survivor was taken into federal immigration custody, authorities said.
The small capsized fishing boat was first spotted south of the Imperial Beach Pier shortly before 12 a.m. late Friday by agents with the U.S. Border Patrol’s San Diego Sector, according to Gerardo Gutierrez, a public affairs officer for the agency.
Border Patrol agents contacted the U.S. Coast Guard, which began a search for survivors near South Seacoast Drive and Encanto Avenue. The San Diego County Sheriff’s Department joined the operation, public information officers said.
Imperial Beach Fire Chief John French told Sideo TV that four people had died.
At least five people were rescued from the water and taken to a hospital, Gutierrez said.
Most of those rescued are of Mexican nationality, and one of those people was transferred to the Department of Homeland Security, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.
Buoys off of Imperial Beach measured rough seas of 6 feet and individual waves of up to 12 feet on Friday night, according to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
“Our crews and partner agencies responded immediately, but this case demonstrates the severe risks [of] attempting to enter the United States by sea in unstable vessels,” said Capt. Robert Tucker, Sector San Diego commander.
The Imperial Beach Border Patrol Station monitors six linear miles of land border from the Pacific Ocean to the San Ysidro Port of Entry, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Panga boats have long been a form of smuggling into California, and they bring dangers.
In 2023, eight people died off the coast of San Diego when two migrant smuggling boats overturned.
Earlier this year, four died in a panga boat incident off the coast of Del Mar. The U.S. Coast Guard received a call around 6:30 a.m. from local authorities reporting that a boat with an estimated 16 people on board had overturned just north of Torrey Pines State Beach.
A Times investigation in 2021 found maritime smuggling along the Pacific Ocean was rising — but still lower than smuggling on land.
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