Eight Migrants Die in Boat Capsizing Near San Diego.

HI INDIA NEWS DESK
SAN DIEGO, CA- At least seven of the eight migrants who lost their lives in a tragic maritime smuggling incident off the coast of southern California over the weekend have been identified as Mexican nationals, according to the Mexican consulate in San Diego. An estimated 15 migrants were on one vessel and 8 migrants were on the other, as reported by a person who made a 911 call shortly before midnight on Saturday. Unfortunately, both vessels had capsized by the time the first responders arrived at Black’s Beach, located about 15 miles north of San Diego.

The San Diego Fire-Rescue Department, Border Patrol, and the Coast Guard worked tirelessly to pull the bodies of eight migrants from the water. Despite their efforts, the search was suspended on Sunday afternoon, and it remains unclear how many migrants, if any, made it to shore.

The Mexican consulate in San Diego stated that family members will be notified as soon as autopsies are completed and the identities of the deceased are confirmed. Meanwhile, the country of origin of the eighth deceased person remains unknown. All of the victims were adults.

James Gartland, the chief of the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department’s lifeguards, described the incident as “one of the worst maritime smuggling tragedies” in California’s history. He explained that the area where the vessels capsized is deceptively hazardous, with a series of sandbars and in-shore rip currents that can pose a significant danger to those who venture into the water. Gartland warned that it can be tempting to think that one can reach safety in waist-high or knee-high water, but the in-shore holes and rip currents can pull a person along the shore and back out to sea.