A least eight people are dead after a suspected smuggling boat crashed at Black’s Beach in California late Saturday night, according to officials.
San Diego police have reported that eight bodies were recovered from the water. The search rescue efforts have been brought down due to thick fog overnight, though Coast Guard and San Diego Fire-Rescue helicopters and a Coast Guard cutter were expected to check the area for other victims early Sunday, according to the Los Angeles Times.
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“We couldn’t get any helicopters up. We had boats in the water, but at first light, once all the conditions clear, we will have Coast Guard out here and San Diego Fire-Rescue and lifeguards doing a joint search through the water for any possible victims that are left,” said Daniel Eddy, San Diego Fire-Rescue’s Deputy Chief of Operations.
Eddy also said helicopters from both the fire department and the coast guard tried to get up in the air, but were unable to due to the weather conditions. Though the Coast Guard was eventually able to get a helicopter up in the air, the fog made it hard to see anything or anyone in the water.
A Coast Guard frigate has also been deployed to the area, Eddy said.
San Diego police were alerted to the situation at 11:30 p.m. on Saturday when a woman on the boat that made it to shore called 911, claiming one of the boats had been capsized, according to police. The woman also said she had traveled from Mexico to the United States.
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The woman also claimed that the overturned boat had 15 people on it, though the number was "just an estimate,” according to U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Richard Brahm. He did not know if anyone on the second boat was injured or if the passengers were apprehended by Border Patrol, according to the Associated Press.
The Washington Examiner has contacted the San Diego Lifeguard Services for comment.