A panga boat believed to be carrying migrants overturned near the San Diego coast Monday, killing three people and sending at least four to the hospital.
Now, nine people are unaccounted for as authorities are searching for other victims who were on board the 12-foot panga boat. Officials found 18 people on the beach, Encinitas Deputy Fire Chief Jorge Sanchez told Fox 5 San Diego. The boat overturned off the coast of Del Mar, about 15 miles north of downtown San Diego.
U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Chris Sappey told ABC 7 the boat, which overturned about 35 miles from the Mexican border, was likely carrying migrants. Panga boats are small vessels designed for fishing but typically used by smugglers.
"They were not tourists," Sappey said. "They are believed to be migrants."
Those injured were taken to the nearby Scripps La Jolla Hospital, KGTV reported.
“There were estimated to be about 18 people on the beach, so we upgraded this to a major medical response due to the number of potential victims that we had on the beach with this boat,” Sanchez said.
The boat overturned near Torrey Pines State Beach around 6:30 a.m. A passerby spotted people doing CPR on the beach and called the police.
“A doctor hiking nearby called in and said, ‘I see people doing CPR on the beach, I’m running that way,’” Nick Backouris from the San Diego Sheriff’s Department told the Associated Press.
One or two children were among those on board, Coast Guard spokesperson Hunter Schnabel told The San Diego Union-Tribune.
Several agencies, including the Coast Guard and San Diego Sheriff’s Department, were helping with the search efforts. San Diego Fire-Rescue sent helicopters to aid the response, while the Coast Guard is using a 45-foot response boat, the Union-Tribune reports. Crews are also combing the beach on foot.
"We're just doing our due diligence by checking if there's anybody else in the waters," Sanchez told NBC News. "And to this point, I don't have anything else to report, as far as missing or accounted for."
“We have several resources walking up and down the beach as well, making sure that no one is missed,” Sanchez also told Fox 5.
