2 critically hurt when boat filled with suspected illegal immigrants overturns off San Diego

Suspected smuggling boat overturns off San Diego

SAN DIEGO — Six people were injured, two critically, when a small boat packed with suspected illegal immigrants overturned early Saturday off the San Diego coast, authorities said.

As many as 23 people were believed to be on the 30-foot boat when it made a crash landing in the surf at Torrey Pines State Park around 4:30 a.m., said Maurice Luque, a spokesman for the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department.

A man and a woman were given CPR and taken to a hospital in serious condition, Luque said. Four more people were taken to a hospital with moderate injuries.

Ten others were in Border Patrol custody and seven were not accounted for. Luque said the park was closed for a search.

The Coast Guard dispatched two boats and a helicopter to search for anyone who might still be in the 58-degree waters, Coast Guard Lt. Josh Nelson said.

Everyone on the boat was believed to be adults in their 20s or 30s. It was likely a human smuggling operation from Mexico, Luque said.

Migrants and drug smugglers are increasingly turning to the seas as border enforcement intensifies on land. U.S. and Mexican authorities say the boats usually launch from Playas de Rosarito, Mexico, just south of Tijuana, and land in the San Diego area.

More than 400 people were arrested in connection with the sea smuggling attempts during the 12-month period ending Sept. 30, about double from the same period a year earlier, said Lauren Mack, a spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Luque said some of the 29 lifejackets recovered were wrapped in plastic, suggesting they had not been used.