A wooden skiff, believed to have been transporting migrants toward the U.S., capsized in stormy seas near San Diego, resulting in at least four fatalities and four individuals hospitalized, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. The incident took place during a strong storm system that impacted Southern California over the weekend, with warnings issued about flash flooding and mudslides.
The U.S. Border Patrol discovered the capsized vessel in the surf off Imperial Beach late Friday night. Shortly before midnight, six individuals were located on the beach, one of whom was pronounced dead, while another was rescued after being found trapped under the boat. Approximately two hours later, authorities received reports of a person in the water near the Imperial Beach Pier. A Coast Guard crew responded and located three people in the ocean, all of whom were deceased.
The Coast Guard reported that its search efforts were ongoing, aimed at locating any additional individuals who may have been aboard the skiff. Among the survivors, several claimed Mexican nationality, while others remained unidentified. One individual was handed over to the Department of Homeland Security for further processing. Coast Guard Captain Robert Tucker, commander of Sector San Diego, emphasized the extreme risks associated with attempting to enter the United States by sea using unstable vessels, stating, “Our crews and partner agencies responded immediately.”
The vessel involved in the tragedy was described as a panga, which is a single- or twin-engine open fishing boat frequently utilized by smugglers. The increasing trend of migrants turning to this perilous means of transportation to avoid heavily fortified land borders, particularly off the coast of California, has been notable. Smugglers typically launch pangas from Mexico in the darkness of night, sometimes navigating hundreds of miles northward.
Recent years have seen several incidents involving capsizing migrant vessels en route to California. In May, at least three people lost their lives when a panga flipped over approximately 35 miles (56 kilometers) north of the U.S.-Mexico border. Furthermore, in 2023, a tragic incident occurred when eight individuals were killed as two migrant smuggling boats approached a San Diego beach in thick fog, resulting in one of the vessels capsizing in the surf—marking it as one of the deadliest maritime smuggling events in U.S. waters.
The issue of migrant deaths is not isolated to the U.S. A federal judge sentenced a San Diego man to 18 years in prison in 2022 for piloting an overloaded small vessel carrying 32 migrants that ultimately broke apart in rough surf, resulting in three fatalities and injuring over two dozen others. According to the United Nations agency for migration, nearly 9,000 people died in 2022 while attempting to cross borders globally, setting a grim record for the fifth consecutive year.
The U.N. Missing Migrant Project indicates that over 24,506 individuals have drowned or gone missing in the central Mediterranean from 2014 to 2024, with many cases remaining unrecorded. This data reflects the persistent and tragic struggles faced by migrants worldwide as they attempt to seek safety and better lives.
