At least three people died and nine others, including two children, were missing after a small boat capsized in choppy seas off the California coast in an apparent migrant smuggling attempt north
At least three people died and nine others, including two children, were missing after a small boat capsized in choppy seas off the California coast in an apparent migrant smuggling attempt north of San Diego, U.S. officials said on Monday.
Four other people rescued after the "panga"-style open fishing vessel washed ashore near Torrey Pines State Beach were transported to hospital, according to U.S. Coast Guard officials.
A Coast Guard cutter, an emergency response boat and a helicopter were involved in an ongoing search for the nine people who remained unaccounted for, said a Coast Guard spokesman, Chief Petty Officer Levi Read.
He said two children were believed to be among the missing.
At least some of the boat's occupants were apparently from India, as a number of Indian passports "were found on the beach near where the panga washed up," Read said.
Shawn Gibson, a special agent in charge of the U.S. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agency, said the incident was a "stark reminder of the dangers posed by maritime smuggling."
"The ruthless smuggling of undocumented individuals is not only illegal, it’s deadly,” Gibson said of the incident, which occurred about 30 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. Read
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