A wooden skiff believed to have been ferrying migrants toward the U.S. capsized in stormy seas near San Diego, leaving at least four people dead and four hospitalized, the Coast Guard said Saturday.
The U.S. Border Patrol found the vessel in the surf off Imperial Beach late Friday night. Six people were found on the beach just before midnight, with one pronounced dead and another rescued after being found under the boat.
About two hours later, authorities responded to a report of someone in the water near the Imperial Beach Pier and found three individuals, all deceased.
The Coast Guard is actively searching for additional passengers who may have been on board. Several survivors reportedly claimed Mexican nationality, with one individual handed over to the Department of Homeland Security.
Captain Robert Tucker of the Coast Guard remarked, “Our crews and partner agencies responded immediately; however, this case highlights the severe risks associated with attempting to enter the United States by sea in unstable vessels.”
A strong storm system recently affected Southern California, prompting warnings of flash flooding and mudslides. The vessel involved was a panga, an open fishing boat often used by smugglers.
Migrants continue to risk dangerous sea journeys, seeking to bypass heavily monitored land borders. Recent years have seen multiple incidents of migrant vessels capsizing off California's coast, including a case in May where three lost their lives when a panga flipped 35 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border.
In 2023, eight individuals died after two smuggling boats approached a San Diego beach in heavy fog, marking one of the deadliest maritime smuggling incidents off America's coast.
The rising death toll highlights a grim reality—according to the U.N. agency for migration, nearly 9,000 people died attempting to cross borders in 2022, with many of these tragedies occurring at sea. The U.N. Missing Migrant Project reports over 24,506 deaths in the central Mediterranean from 2014 to 2024 alone, many unrecorded.
