Smuggling boat crash has deadly consequences

OAN Geraldyn Berry
UPDATED 2:19 PM – Monday, March 13, 2023

San Diego Fire and Rescue announced Saturday night that at least eight people of unknown origins were killed and seven others are missing after two boats crashed off San Diego’s Black Beach Coast. These boats may have been used in a smuggling operation.

A woman was riding a panga boat along with eight other people. She made it to Black’s Beach and made a transfer call at the San Diego Fire-Rescue Lifeguard Division communications station. After another panga with 8-10 people capsized, the fatalities were found in the water.

The lifeguard dispatcher was able to find the crash’s location by using the GPS on the woman’s cell phone. It was approximately 800 yards from Black Gold Road. The situation was quickly remediated by personnel from the SDFD and San Diego police, Customs Border Protections, US Coast Guards, US Coast Guards, State Lifeguards. UCSD Police and SDFD Lifeguards.

“The woman who called stated that the boat that overturned had 15 people on it, but that was just an estimate,” Richard Brahm (United States Coast Guard)

Due to high tide, the SDFD lifeguard units could not reach the beach so they had to wade through the water up to their waists. The fog and other weather conditions made it impossible for a Coast Guard helicopter to get to the area. The Coast Guard helicopter was the only one that could make it to the area. Numerous fuel barrels and life jackets were also discovered.

According to the SDFD seven bodies were retrieved by lifeguards from the beach. Customs and Border Protection’s Air and Marine Operations later found eight bodies. All victims were given access to the San Diego County Medical Examiner.

Coast Guard Petty Officer Eddie Berrios confirmed that the rescues were made on Sunday but said that they were still searching for seven more. The beach is about 15 miles north-east of downtown San Diego. It could have served as an escape route for all or some of the survivors.

By mid-afternoon, the Coast Guard suspended the search for them around mid-afternoon local time.

“The lowest they could get was down to about 100 feet,” Captain James Spitler, Commander Coast Guard San Diego Sector, said. “They couldn’t see the water very well, even with night-vision goggles. So they did a few legs of the search pattern and determined that the risk exceeded their ability to do a search effectively, so they returned to base.”