The U.S. Coast Guard has suspended its search for seven people believed missing after a panga boat overturned near Del Mar.
The search stopped late Monday hours following the early-morning capsizing of the boat, which killed at least three people and injured at least four others, Petty Officer Hunter Schnabel said.
Nine people were initially reported missing, but two were later found and detained, Schnabel said. He didn’t know which agency detained the individuals or why.
It isn’t clear if any of the seven people who were reported missing made it to shore on their own. Schnabel said they will be considered missing or unaccounted for unless there is a new development.
Petty Officer Chris Sappey said it isn’t known where the boat was coming from before it flipped shortly after sunrise about 35 miles north of the Mexico border. He described the vessel as a panga, which is a single or twin-engine open fishing boat commonly used by smugglers.
The capsizing was reported early Monday by survivors who sought help from local first responders, according to a news release from the U.S. Coast Guard.
At approximately 6:30 a.m. Coast Guard Sector San Diego received the report of the overturned vessel, off Torrey Pines State Beach, from a local dispatch. Three people had been found dead and four more were located in need of medical attention. Schnabel said they were treated at a local hospital.
After interviewing the injured survivors, first responders, including local law enforcement and lifeguards, determined that approximately seven more people could not be accounted for.
Coast Guard Sector San Diego watchstanders then directed the launch of air and sea assets to assist.
They included a San Air Station San Diego MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter, Air Station Sacramento C-27 Spartan aircraft, Station San Diego 45-foot response boat and the cutter Sea Otter.
In total, the search covered more than 520 square nautical miles, officials said.
Authorities believe that half of the occupants of the boat survived the accident and may have left the area upon reaching shore, ditching their life jackets on the waterfront.
Eighteen life jackets were later recovered on the beach.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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