Boat capsizes off San Diego coast, leaving 3 dead, 9 missing
Three people were killed, four were injured and nine others are missing after a small boat overturned early Monday in the ocean off San Diego, sheriff’s officials said.
Agencies including the U.S. Coast Guard responded around 6:30 a.m. following reports of a capsized panga-style boat near Torrey Pines State Beach, according to the San Diego Sheriff’s Department, News.Az reports, citing CNN.
Coast Guard vessels and helicopters were searching for the missing while the four injured were sent to hospitals, authorities said. Coast Guard officials said they did not know where the 12-foot boat was coming from before it flipped.
The Coast Guard said on X it was searching for nine missing people in the water about 15 miles north of downtown San Diego.
The Coast Guard told CNN it was providing assistance to lifeguards who were coordinating the response. The agency has deployed a 45-foot-long rescue boat and a helicopter to search for the missing people in the water, a spokesperson told CNN.
Hikers and others at Torrey Pines State Beach reported seeing a boat capsize near the shore at about 6:30 a.m., said Lt. Nick Backouris of the San Diego Sheriff’s Department.
“A doctor hiking nearby called in and said, ‘I see people doing CPR on the beach, I’m running that way,’” Backouris said.
Pangas are open boats designed for fishing but commonly used by smugglers.
In 2023, eight people were killed when two migrant smuggling boats approached a San Diego beach amid heavy fog. One boat capsized in the surf, marking one of the deadliest human smuggling operations ever in the US.
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