SAN DIEGO COUNTY, Calif. — Eight people were hospitalized after a suspected smuggling boat capsized Thursday near Moonlight Beach in Encinitas.
About 5 a.m., Border Patrol agents spotted a panga-style boat approaching the shoreline at Moonlight Beach, said Border Patrol spokesman Jeff Stephenson. When agents arrived, they discovered the vessel had capsized near the shoreline.
Agents searched the area and found eight people suspected of being on the boat when it capsized, Stephenson said.
"The patients were in mild to moderate status suffering primarily from hypothermia," said Encinitas Fire Department Battalion Chief Jim Mickelson.
No details about the victims were immediately available. However, the search for any additional people is ongoing.
”People were identified walking up the streets, leaving the area, so that’s what oftentimes happens," said Mickelson.
So far this fiscal year, 1,327 migrants have been encountered illegally entering the U.S. from the ocean along the California coast, Border Patrol officials said.
"We’ve seen a big increase over the past two years," said Dewey Worker, a Lieutenant Commander with the U.S. Coast Guard.
WATCH RELATED: 'Smuggling' vessel capsizes in La Jolla, 1 dead (May 2021)