At least 3 dead, 27 injured after boat capsizes in San Diego
By (0)
May 2 (UPI) At least three people died and 27 more were injured after a boat believed to be a smuggling vessel overturned off the coast of San Diego on Sunday.
Rick Romero, San Diego Fire Rescue lifeguard lieutenant, said during a press conference that the agency received a call around 10 a.m. from a commercial assistance vessel reporting a vessel offshore near the surf line that appeared to be in trouble.
Advertisement Once we arrived on scene the boat had been basically broken apart, Romero said, describing the vessel as a 40-foot cabin cruiser with multiple people on board.
Three people have been killed and 27 are in hospital after a wooden boat capsized during a possible human smuggling operation just off the US San Diego coast.
Local lifeguards, the US Coast Guard and other agencies responded following reports of an overturned vessel near the peninsula of Point Loma, according to the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department.
Three people died at the scene and 27 people were taken to hospital with “varying degrees of injuries,” department spokesman Jose Ysea said.
Mr Ysea said when he arrived at the scene near the Cabrillo National Monument there was a “large debris field” of broken wood and other items in the choppy waters.
CBS NEWS
At least 3 killed and 27 others hospitalized when overcrowded boat overturns off San Diego coast in apparent smuggling operation
Published: May 2, 2021 4:28 PM EDT
Updated: May 2, 2021 7:44 PM EDT
Recommended
At least three people were killed and at least 27 others were hospitalized after a boat believed to be smuggling people overturned Sunday morning off the coast of San Diego, according to the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department. Multiple agencies including local lifeguards, the U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Border Protection responded to the “mass casualty” emergency, officials said.
Jeff Stephenson, a spokesperson for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, said at a Sunday afternoon press conference there was “every indication from our perspective that this was a smuggling vessel,” and the suspected smuggler was in custody. Stephenson said the boat was likely trying to blend into commercial maritime traffic in the area. Officials would not reveal th