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Yahoo
4 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Missing 10-year-old girl's remains identified after Panga boat capsized off California coast
Authorities have confirmed the identity of a body that washed ashore in San Diego County last week as a 10-year-old girl who was reported missing after a Panga boat carrying migrants capsized off the coast. Mahi Brijeshkumar Patel was one of four passengers who died after their boat capsized on May 5, according to the San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office. She had turned 10 just two days before the accident. Her body washed ashore at Torrey Pines State Beach on May 21. Her 14-year-old brother, Prince Brijeshkumar Patel, also died in the incident. His death was ruled an accidental drowning. The siblings' parents were both rescued but the father remains in a coma, officials said. The family is from India. The family was aboard the Pangaboat, a small boat with an outboard motor, along with several other people when it capsized at Del Mar Beach. Read more: Dad in coma, son dead and 10-year-old daughter missing after migrant boat capsizes; 5 charged The U.S. Coast Guard received a call around 6:30 a.m. that a small panga-style boat with an estimated 16 people on board had overturned just north of Torrey Pines State Beach, said Hunter Schnabel, a Coast Guard public affairs officer. The third drowning victim was identified as Marcos Lozada-Juarez, 18. The fourth victim has not yet been identified. Authorities have not confirmed a final total of how many people were aboard the boat. Authorities began making arrests soon after the capsized boat was reported. Two people — Jesus Ivan Rodriguez-Leyva, 36, and Julio Cesar Zuniga-Luna, 30, both Mexican nationals — were arrested on the beach on suspicion of smuggling the passengers on the boat, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. A few hours later in Chula Vista, just 10 miles from the Mexican border, Border Patrol agents spotted a car, which had been seen earlier near the accident scene, and arrested three of its passengers, but the driver got away. Agents continued their investigation and eventually stopped two other vehicles involved in the smuggling incident and discovered eight of the nine missing migrants, according to prosecutors. The drivers of the vehicles — Melissa Jenelle Cota, 33; Gustavo Lara, 32; and Sergio Rojas-Fregoso, 31 — were arrested and charged with the transportation of undocumented immigrants, which is punishable by up to 10 years in prison. Times staff writer Clara Harter contributed to this report. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
4 days ago
- Los Angeles Times
Missing 10-year-old girl's remains identified after Panga boat capsized off California coast
Authorities have confirmed the identity of a body that washed ashore in San Diego County last week as a 10-year-old girl who was reported missing after a Panga boat carrying migrants capsized off the coast. Mahi Brijeshkumar Patel was one of four passengers who died after their boat capsized on May 5, according to the San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office. She had turned 10 just two days before the accident. Her body washed ashore at Torrey Pines State Beach on May 21. Her 14-year-old brother, Prince Brijeshkumar Patel, also died in the incident. His death was ruled an accidental drowning. The siblings' parents were both rescued but the father remains in a coma, officials said. The family is from India. The family was aboard the Pangaboat, a small boat with an outboard motor, along with several other people when it capsized at Del Mar Beach. The U.S. Coast Guard received a call around 6:30 a.m. that a small panga-style boat with an estimated 16 people on board had overturned just north of Torrey Pines State Beach, said Hunter Schnabel, a Coast Guard public affairs officer. The third drowning victim was identified as Marcos Lozada-Juarez, 18. The fourth victim has not yet been identified. Authorities have not confirmed a final total of how many people were aboard the boat. Authorities began making arrests soon after the capsized boat was reported. Two people — Jesus Ivan Rodriguez-Leyva, 36, and Julio Cesar Zuniga-Luna, 30, both Mexican nationals — were arrested on the beach on suspicion of smuggling the passengers on the boat, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. A few hours later in Chula Vista, just 10 miles from the Mexican border, Border Patrol agents spotted a car, which had been seen earlier near the accident scene, and arrested three of its passengers, but the driver got away. Agents continued their investigation and eventually stopped two other vehicles involved in the smuggling incident and discovered eight of the nine missing migrants, according to prosecutors. The drivers of the vehicles — Melissa Jenelle Cota, 33; Gustavo Lara, 32; and Sergio Rojas-Fregoso, 31 — were arrested and charged with the transportation of undocumented immigrants, which is punishable by up to 10 years in prison. Times staff writer Clara Harter contributed to this report.
India Today
06-05-2025
- India Today
Indian couple survive boat tragedy, 2 kids go missing while entering US illegally
Two children from an Indian family trying to enter the US illegally have gone missing as the boat they were travelling in capsized off the coast of San Diego, California on Monday morning. Three people have drowned in the boat tragedy, while the parents of the children had a lucky escape and are receiving treatment in Consulate General of India in San Francisco confirmed the incident through a post on X, saying that two Indian children were missing while their parents were being treated at Scripps Memorial Hospital La to the US Coast Guard, four people were rescued while seven people are still missing. The two taken into custody were suspected to be smugglers, Coast Guard spokesperson Hunter Schnabel told far, four people have been rescued, of which two are being treated for their injuries while the other two were taken into SEARCH OPERATION UNDERWAYA Coast Guard cutter, an emergency response boat and a helicopter were part of the ongoing search operation for the missing, among whom are two children, another Coast Guard spokesperson, Chief Petty Officer Levi Read, Coast Guard Petty Officer Chris Sappey told news agency AP that it was unclear where the boat was coming from before it flipped shortly after sunrise about 35 miles (56-kilometers) north of the Mexican described the vessel as a panga—an open fishing boat with one or two engines, often used by to the Coast Guard spokesperson, a number of Indian passports were found on the beach near where the panga washed Gibson, a top official with the US Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agency, emphasised that this incident highlights the perils of maritime smuggling, underscoring the risks faced by those from HSI, the US Border Patrol, the local fire department and law enforcement also responded to the accident, according to the officials. Belongings of those onboard, such as shoes, life preservers, and passports were recovered from the Panga boat that capsized off the California coast on Monday. (Image: Reuters) ILLEGAL MIGRANTS TURNING TO RISKY ALTERNATIVE ROUTESSince October 2024, the Coast Guard has tracked 277 vessels clandestinely entering US waters from Mexico in the San Diego area, some of the boats being interdicted and others getting away, according to Coast Guard spokesperson incidents resulted in 983 people being Watch
