4 Dead, 25 Injured After Smuggling Boat Capsizes Near San Diego

ZeroHedge.com

A vessel off the coast of San Diego broke apart Sunday, killing four and injuring dozens. Authorities suspect the ship was involved in a human smuggling operation, according to NPR.

“Twenty-nine people have reportedly been accounted for, consisting of twenty-four people alive, four people declared deceased by local emergency medical services personnel and one person who was last reported to be in critical condition,” according to the U.S. Coast Guard statement issued late Sunday night. 

The incident occurred around 1030 PST Sunday. Dozens of rescue crews responded to the 200 block of Catalina Boulevard, near the Cabrillo National Monument. When first responders arrived at the scene, the forty-foot cabin cruiser was broken apart from heavy seas.

James Gartland, the lifeguard chief for San Diego, said the vessel hit a reef and broke apart. He said this is one of the worst tragedies he’s seen in his 26-year career.

Gartland called it a “tragic event.”

According to Rick Romero of the San Diego Lifeguard Services, dozens of people were “sucked in by currents as the boat split apart.” Weather conditions were not ideal, and there were seven-foot swells, low clouds, and rain.

The incident comes as the Biden administration finally admitted a crisis on the southern U.S. border that began after the 2020 election.

Now it appears smugglers are using vessels to haul in illegals.

Jeff Stephenson, supervisory Border Patrol agent, said the “smuggling vessel” was “severely overcrowded.” He believes the person operating the vessel was part of a Mexican smuggling operation.

Border Patrol has reported an jump in maritime apprehensions this year. Between October 2019 and September 2020, the number of those arrests soared by 92% — about 1,200 more than the previous fiscal year.

The Biden border crisis now extends from land to sea. Perhaps Biden shouldn’t have promised illegal migrants the world during the 2020 U.S. election. Virtue signaling has consequences.

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https://www.zerohedge.com/political/4-dead-25-injured-after-smuggling-boat-capsizes-near-san-diego