Thread: Woman dead after boat collides with Border Patrol vessel off California coast

Woman dead after boat collides with Border Patrol vessel off North Co. coast



10News Digital Team 7:03 AM, Jun 18, 2015

SHOW CAPTION

OCEANSIDE - A woman believed to be an undocumented immigrant died Thursday following a collision between a crowded smuggling skiff and a U.S. Border Patrol vessel off the North County coastline, authorities reported.

Agents aboard the federal boat spotted the panga early this morning near Encinitas, hailed the occupants and ordered its pilot to yield, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

The skiff continued on, prompting the government agents to fire warning shots, CBP spokeswoman Jackie Wasiluk said.

The two vessels then collided, causing the skiff to capsize and sending its 20 occupants into the ocean.

The agents pulled the group out of the water, then performed CPR on an unconscious woman, Wasiluk said. A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter crew airlifted her to a medical facility, where she was pronounced dead.

The cause of the unidentified woman's death was not immediately clear.

The other migrants were taken to shore. Medics took four of them to a hospital for treatment of apparently non-life-threatening injuries and tended to the remaining 15 at the scene.

The entire group was believed to have entered the United States illegally, the spokeswoman said. It was not immediately clear if the suspects might have been transporting any type of contraband.

http://www.10news.com/news/20-captur...r-boat-pursuit

Well, I don't know about ABC but in modern times I consider aliens brought in illegally to be contraband. Wonder how long it will take for someone to suggest we must quit intercepting invading vessels? Surely, American legislators would not entertain such a fool proposal, would they? What, you say "Wanna bet on it?" Good grief, NO, I don't want to bet on that!

by Bruce Wright
on June 18 2015 9:12 PM EDT

One woman died Thursday after a boat that was packed with undocumented immigrants collided Thursday with a U.S. Border Patrol vessel in Southern California, according to a new report. At least four other undocumented immigrants were hospitalized after the collision, which happened off the coast of the North County in Oceanside, California, near San Diego, ABC affiliate 10 News reported.

The undocumented immigrants were allegedly being smuggled into the U.S. Thursday morning when agents from the U.S. Customs and Border protection spotted the boat they were in and attempted to stop it. However, the boat ignored the orders despite warning shots from agents before the collision, resulting in all 20 of the people on the smuggling boat ending up in the water and the boat capsizing.

It was unclear which boat initiated contact, and at least one advocate for undocumented immigrants questioned the account that was provided by U.S. Border Patrol. "It's very unfortunate that there was a loss of life, but we also question the need to fire warning shots specifically when that might deter or scare people from actually making contact with CBP," Pedro Rios, of the American Friends Service Committee, said to NBC San Diego. "In this case, it's unclear who struck who, but we do know there was a fatality and that's very unfortunate."

It was unclear if the boat was only transporting humans or if illegal drugs were involved as well.

Undocumented immigrants and their attempts to enter the U.S. illegally has been keeping Border Patrol agents especially busy as of late, but recently a spokesperson for the group has complained that agents' power to enforce rules and regulations surrounding illegal immigration have been stymied. One agent in San Diego told the Los Angeles Times that the U.S Customs and Border Patrol agency no longer wants them conducting drug busts, a key part of the job. “There was a lot of pressure for us to get out of the [drug] interdiction game,” said Shane Gallagher.

http://www.ibtimes.com/immigration-2...s-boat-1974283

Associated Press
June 19, 2015 — 9:40pm

SAN DIEGO — Two men were charged Friday with immigrant smuggling after a boat they allegedly guided crashed with a U.S. vessel near the Mexican border, leaving one passenger dead.

Numerous witnesses identified Jose Pina and Salvador Sanchez as the smuggling vessel's operators, according to a statement of probable cause. Sanchez told investigators that his smuggling fee was knocked down to $6,000 from $10,000 for helping with fuel duties and that Pina was the driver. Neither man had an attorney listed in court records.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection said 20 people were aboard the 26-foot vessel, which was spotted before dawn Thursday near Encinitas, north of San Diego. CBP says agents fired warning shots, the boats collided, and the smuggling boat capsized.

One woman recovered from the water died. The Mexican government identified her as a 33-year-old from Jalisco state.

One person remained serious condition Friday and prospects for survival were unclear, said Remdios Gomez Arnau, the Mexican consul general in San Diego.

The Mexican government has called for an investigation into the incident.

http://www.startribune.com/1-dead-as...ide/308374411/

By Tony Cagala
Jun 24, 2015

ENCINITAS — The investigation into an incident where a suspected smuggling vessel and a U.S. Customs and Border Protection patrol boat collided in the waters near Encinitas, leaving one woman dead and sending four others to a hospital is ongoing, according to CBP officials.

The incident, being investigated by the CBP, occurred in the early morning hours on June 18 some nine miles off the coast.

The vessel was initially detected by a CBP multi-role enforcement aircraft as it crossed the international boundary line, and identified as a possible suspect vessel with multiple occupants on board, according to John Priddy, director of the San Diego Air and Marine Branch for U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

The vessel, a 30-foot panga, continued to be tracked as it headed in a northbound direction.

A 38-foot CBP SAFE (Secure Around Flotation Equipped) Boat spotted the panga with 20 people aboard. Agents on the SAFE Boat ordered the panga to yield, firing warning shots after it had failed to do so.

During maneuvering the two vessels collided, causing the panga to capsize with all 20 people on board going into the water.

All were pulled from the water, including a woman, who immediately received CPR. The woman, 32, was unresponsive and flown to a hospital by a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter, and later was pronounced dead by medical authorities, said Priddy.

She was the only woman of the 20 Mexican citizens on board. All were suspected of attempting to enter the country illegally. The 19 males ranged in ages between 18 and 54.

Of the 19, four were transported to a local area hospital with non-life threatening injuries. The remaining 15 were transported to U.S. Border Patrol agents at the San Clemente station for processing.

“Any loss of human life is tragic,” said Priddy. “And unfortunately for us in Southern California, this is not the first time we’ve seen a dangerous smuggling attempt at sea result in the loss of human life, including two persons who died near Torrey Pines in 2010 after a smuggling vessel capsized attempting to come ashore in rough surf, and the death of U.S. Coast Guard Senior Chief Petty Officer Terrell Horne III near Santa Cruz Island in 2012.”

In January of this year, a CBP helicopter fired warning shots at another smuggling vessel that failed to yield off of the San Diego coastline.

It marked the first time that the CBP deployed warning shots from an air asset on the West Coast, Mitch Pribble, Director of Air Operations for CBP in San Diego, said in a news release.

Three men were arrested in that incident, suspected of smuggling marijuana.

The San Diego Marine Task Force, led by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is conducting the criminal investigation into the recent maritime smuggling incident, according to Ralph DeSio, a spokesman with the CBP.

https://thecoastnews.com/blog/2015/0...ear-encinitas/