At least four people are dead after a small boat capsized off the coast of San Diego in the early morning hours on Saturday.
The US Coast Guard and the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office were called to Imperial Beach around 12:30am after a panga boat capsized, and one of its occupants was seen floating unresponsive in the water.
At least three others were found dead near the Imperial Beach Pier, and five were taken to the hospital with minor injuries, Fox 5 San Diego and The San Diego Union-Tribune reported.
US Border Patrol saw the boat cross the US-Mexico border, John French, of the Imperial Fire Department, told Sideo TV.
The identities of the deceased have not been publicly released.
Angel Flores had been fishing on the pier when the law enforcement began searching, and said he saw one of the victims floating unresponsively in the water, he told Sideo TV.
‘We were out here like just chilling with our friends – me and my brother and his two other friends. And so we were out here for like probably like two hours fishing.
‘We noticed that the helicopter was circling around us.’
The US Coast Guard and the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office were called to Imperial Beach around 12:30am after a panga boat capsized. Four people were killed and five were injured
Flores’ brother was the first to notice one of the deceased occupants ‘just in the water, floating.’
Afterward, the group of friends called 911.
No other information has been released by law enforcement.
The Daily Mail has contacted the sheriff’s office for comment.
The boat washed up on the shoreline and police officers were seen using flashlights to search for the boat’s occupants while water rushed up the sand.
A helicopter was also seen flying around during the search.
