4 dead, more than 20 hospitalized after suspected smuggling vessel overturns off San Diego
Four people are dead and nearly two dozen people were sent to hospitals after a suspected smuggling vessel overturned off the coast of San Diego on Sunday morning.
San Diego Fire-Rescue Department spokesperson Monica Munoz told CNN they received reports of a vessel that overturned near the Cabrillo National Monument in Point Loma around 10:27 a.m. (1:27 p.m. ET).
James Gartland, lifeguard chief for San Diego, told reporters it appeared the boat hit the reef, broke up and 30 people “came out of the vessel.”
“This was a mass rescue operation that turned into a mass casualty incident,” Gartland said.
Small Boat Crashes onto SD Coast, 4 Killed, 25 Rescued
By Sandra G. Leon
29 people emerged from a small boat that crashed onto the coast near the Cabrillo National Monument in Point Loma on Sunday, killing four of the occupants in what is believed to be a smuggling operation.
The 40-foot cabin cruiser was first spotted at around 10:30am on Sunday, May 2, as it crashed on the coastline and began to break apart. Although there is no official count of how many people were on board, a total of 29 were recovered, including four dead.
“It was a smuggling vessel,” said Jeffery Stephenson of the Customs and Border Protection Public Affairs Office during a press briefing after the incident. “Border Patrol agents are with a man we believe was the operator.”
3 dead after suspected smuggling vessel overturns off San Diego
elisfkc2 / Flickr / CC BY-SA 2.0
Three people are dead after a suspected smuggling vessel overturned off the coast of San Diego on Sunday morning.
San Diego Fire-Rescue Department spokesperson Monica Munoz told CNN they received reports of a vessel that overturned near the Cabrillo National Monument in Point Loma around 10:27 a.m. (1:27 p.m. ET).
James Gartland, lifeguard chief for San Diego, told reporters it appeared the boat hit the reef, broke up and 30 people “came out of the vessel.”
In a Monday update, the US Coast Guard said 32 people were aboard the vessel, 29 survived, three died and of the five remaining in the hospital, one is in critical condition. The Coast Guard indicated Sunday more than 20 people were sent to the hospital.
U.S. Coast Guard on how human smuggling boat capsized and killed four people - kusi.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from kusi.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
SAN DIEGO (KUSI) – Authorities Monday were investigating a suspected human-smuggling operation involving a 40-foot cabin cruiser that overturned in coastal waters near Point Loma, killing three people and injuring more than two dozen.
A total of 29 people were found, including one person in critical condition and the three deceased individuals, according to the Coast Guard. There was no official record of how many people were actually on the boat.
The accident happened about 10:30 a.m. Sunday in ocean waters off the Cabrillo National Monument. Border Patrol officials said the boat crashed into the shoreline surrounding the monument and capsized. Eventually, all aboard the boat jumped in the water as it slowly disintegrated, a bystander’s video of the sinking boat showed.