Eight people are confirmed dead after two boats crashed Saturday night on the coast of San Diego. According to San Diego Fire and Rescue, authorities are still searching for seven other victims.
Law enforcement believes the two boats were involved in alleged smuggling.
San Diego Union-Tribune reports that around 11:30 pm, one of the boats capsized near Black Beach, near the Torrey Pines neighborhood. A person who made it to shore called 911, saying, “the boat that overturned had 15 people on it, but that was just an estimate,” per U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Richard Brahm.
Local emergency departments, Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Coast Guard, and state/local lifeguards were notified about the situation. Using GPS, the dispatcher located the caller, who was 800 yards north of Black Gold Road.
The San Diego emergency teams started searching in the water first due to the high tide preventing access to Black Beach. There was also a thick fog that caused limited vision. “We couldn’t get any helicopters up. We had boats in the water,” San Diego Fire-Rescue’s Deputy Chief, Daniel Eddy, told OnScene TV.
Lifeguards pulled seven dead bodies from the water. Later, Border Patrol found the eighth.
According to reports, the small boats were known as “panga,” small ships with outbound engines, usually used in smuggling operations near the coast.
It is unclear if any other survived from the second boat or if Border Patrol seized them. The search continues for seven other uncounted bodies.
“At first light, once all the conditions clear, we will have Coast Guard out here and San Diego Fire-Rescue and lifeguards doing a joint search through the water for any possible victims that are left,” said Eddy.
Per the authorities’ report, it is unclear if any arrests have been made.
