Overview
- U.S. Coast Guard officials said a panga-style wooden skiff flipped late Friday near Seacoast Drive in Imperial Beach, killing four people and leaving five survivors.
- Imperial Beach Border Patrol agents reported the vessel crossing from Mexico before it overturned in the surf during a suspected maritime smuggling attempt.
- Six people were found on the beach shortly before midnight, including one person rescued from beneath the overturned boat and one victim pronounced dead at the scene.
- A bystander later reported a person in the water near Imperial Beach Pier, where Coast Guard crews recovered three additional people who were declared dead.
- Four survivors were taken to hospitals and one was transferred to a Department of Homeland Security agency, with several survivors claiming Mexican nationality as the multi-agency search and investigation continue.