5 people charged after migrant boat capsized, killing 3, including 14-year-old boy from India

SAN DIEGO AP Federal agents filed charges Tuesday against five people in connection to a boat carrying expatriates that capsized a day earlier off San Diego s Pacific coast killing three people including a -year-old boy from India The boy s -year-old sister is still missing at sea and is presumed dead the U S Attorney s Office in San Diego reported in a report Their parents were among the four people who were injured and taken to the hospital including the father who is in a coma Nine people were initially shared missing All but the -year-old girl were detected late Monday by Territory line Patrol agents conducting operations in the San Diego area leaders reported Two Mexican citizens were arrested at the beach near where the boat overturned They were charged with human smuggling resulting in death a crime that carries a maximum penalty of death or life in prison Territory line Patrol agents unveiled eight movers who managed to make it to shore The agents also identified vehicles with drivers who were waiting to pick up the movers as part of the smuggling scheme according to court documents U S government also arrested three Mexican citizens and charged them with unlawfully transporting newcomers One had been deported in from the U S It was unclear if any of the defendants had defense attorneys and they could not be reached for comment The drowning deaths of these children are a heartbreaking reminder of how little human traffickers care about the costs of their deadly business mentioned U S Attorney Adam Gordon We are committed to seeking justice for these vulnerable casualties and to holding accountable any traffickers responsible for their deaths The search efforts by the U S Coast Guard stopped late Monday Crews combed the area via helicopter and a cutter for hours after the boat flipped shortly after sunrise about miles kilometers north of the Mexico frontier Representatives described the skiff as a panga a small wooden open-air boat used to fish but also commonly used by handlers to bring people into the U S from Mexico Refugees are increasingly turning to the risky alternative offered by intermediaries to tour by sea to avoid heavily guarded land borders including off California s coast Pangas leave the Mexican coast in the dead of night In eight people were killed when two migrant smuggling boats approached a San Diego beach in heavy fog One capsized in the surf It was one of the deadliest maritime smuggling cases in waters off the U S coast A federal judge sentenced a San Diego man to years in prison in for piloting a small vessel overloaded with newcomers that smashed apart in powerful surf off San Diego s coast killing three people and injuring more than two dozen others Source