The U.S. Coast Guard has suspended the search for additional survivors of a human smuggling boat that capsized near a beach in Del Mar, California, on Monday, killing at least three people.
Nine people were initially believed to be missing, but officials later revised that number to seven.
The incident was reported around 6:30 a.m. Monday when local authorities contacted the Coast Guard to say a panga-style vessel had overturned just north of Torrey Pines State Beach, authorities said.
Three people were pronounced dead at the scene, and four more were hospitalized.
“After interviewing the injured survivors, first responders were able to determine that approximately seven more individuals were unaccounted-for,” the Coast Guard said in a statement.
Local and federal authorities, including Border Patrol agents, searched the area by helicopter, boat, and jet ski but did not locate any additional survivors.
On Tuesday, the Coast Guard said it was suspending the search “pending further developments.”
Panga landings are common in Southern California as immigrants risk their safety aboard these overcrowded boats to reach the United States from Mexico.
In 2023, eight people died when a migrant smuggling boat capsized at a San Diego beach in heavy fog. Landings have also occurred in Orange, Los Angeles and Ventura counties.