May 21, 2021 10:17 am
SAN DIEGO (AP) — An empty panga boat was found abandoned on San Diego’s Mission Beach early Friday.
Life jackets were found in the boat and on the sand, according to local media reports.
Pangas are a type of outboard-powered open boat favored by migrant and drug smugglers trying to skirt the U.S.-Mexico land border.
On Thursday, authorities said one person was killed and others were injured when a panga apparently attempted to smuggle migrants ashore on San Diego’s La Jolla coast.
On Monday, authorities took 23 people from a panga off Point Loma and earlier this month a cabin cruiser overloaded with 32 people foundered there, killing three people during a smuggling attempt.