Four people died after a panga boat capsized off the San Diego County coast early Saturday morning, authorities said.
The boat was first spotted south of the Imperial Beach Pier around 12 a.m. by agents with the U.S. Border Patrol’s San Diego Sector, according to Gerardo Gutierrez, a public affairs officer for the agency.
The San Diego County Sheriff’s Department responded to a report of an overturned vessel around 12:23 a.m., a public information officer confirmed to The Times on Saturday.
The U.S. Coast Guard joined the search for the boat, which had been carrying nine people, near South Seacoast Drive and Encanto Avenue, Imperial Beach Fire Chief John French told Sideo.TV.
French confirmed that four people had died.
At least five people were rescued from the water and taken to a hospital, Gutierrez said. This event remains under investigation, he added.
The Imperial Beach Border Patrol Station monitors six linear miles of land border from the Pacific Ocean to the San Ysidro Port of Entry, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
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