8 dead, 7 missing after boat capsizes off San Diego coast

Coast Guard and San Diego Fire-Rescue crews pulled eight bodies from the water, but thick fog hampered the search for additional victims. A Coast Guard cutter combed the area early Sunday, and officials hoped to get helicopters in the air when weather improves, Brahm said.

Daniel Eddy, San Diego Fire-Rescue’s deputy chief of operations, said there was a long debris field on Black’s Beach. Black’s Beach is jointly owned by the city of San Diego and the state. The stretch of sand is also known as Torrey Pines City Beach and Torrey Pines State Beach.

Coast Guard Petty Officer Eddie Berrios confirmed eight people died and teams were searching for at least seven more. He didn’t know what kind of boats they were, but said pangas (small open boats with outboard engines used in smuggling operations) often come ashore there.

Brahm didn’t know if anyone on the second boat was injured or whether they were apprehended by Border Patrol.

It was unclear if any arrests were made and the nationalities of the passengers was unknown. Illegal crossings have soared under President Joe Biden, with many migrants turning themselves in to Border Patrol agents and being released in the United States to pursue their cases in immigration court.