Four people are dead and five others injured after a panga boat overturned in heavy surf off the Imperial Beach shoreline early Saturday morning.
According to the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office, deputies were called to the area of Seacoast Drive and Encanto Avenue shorrtly after midnight to assist in what they described as a life-saving emergency involving a suspected overturned human smuggling vessel.
Sheriff’s officials said they were requested to assist the U.S. Coast Guard, Chula Vista Fire Department and U.S. Border Patrol as emergency crews worked to locate and aid individuals in the water.
San Diego Fire-Rescue Chief John French confirmed that at least four people died in the incident. Another five people were transported to local hospitals with minor injuriece emphasized that deputies were not engaged in border-enforcement activity, but were strictly focused on rescue efforts.
The Coast Guard says the stormy weather and high surf made search and rescue efforts especially difficult.
The ages and nationalities of the deceased were not immediately released.
(Photo U.S. Coast Guard)