23 people rescued from boat off San Diego coast
Border Patrol says panga loaded with undocumented migrants unsuccessfully tried to outrun agents
SAN DIEGO, Calif. (KYMA, KECY/NBC News) - The U.S. Coast Guard had to rescue more than 20 undocumented migrants Monday morning from an overloaded boat.
It happened off the coast of San Diego's Point Loma. U.S. Border Patrol says an agent first spotted the panga with video surveillance. Border Patrol then called in the Coast Guard to intercept the vessel.
The cutter's crew say it made contact with the boat, but the person manning the outboard refused to stop. In fact, the Coast Guard says he tried to outrun them and escape. The overloaded boat wound up getting stuck in the surf line.
The Guard says it then offloaded the passengers onto the cutter, and eventually turned all 23 over to Border Patrol.
Border Patrol says 21 of the people on the boat were undocumented Mexican migrants attempting to enter the U.S. illegally. Agents say two others were the human smugglers in charge of the trip. They'll face federal charges. The remainder will be processed and likely expelled back into Mexico.
Since the start of the 2021 fiscal year, San Diego Sector Border Patrol agents have intercepted 157 maritime smuggling attempts.
