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Public Safety

Migrant Boat Crashes At Torrey Pines

Six people were injured, two seriously, when a heavily-loaded 20-foot panga, carrying 23 people, made a crash landing at Torrey Pines State Beach today, authorities said.

Authorities were alerted to the accident in the surf near the 12500 block of Torrey Pines Roads about 4:30 a.m., said San Diego police Sgt. Ray Battrick.

A man and a woman were given CPR and taken to a hospital in serious condition, said San Diego Fire Department spokesman Maurice Luque. Four more people were also taken to hospital with moderate injuries, Luque said.

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Hypothermia was a concern, he said, adding that the water temperature was about 56 degrees Fahrenheit.

Border patrol agents took 10 people into custody, he said.

Authorities were searching the area, including the water, for the other seven people, he said.

Everyone on the boat was believed to be adults in their 20s or 30s, he said.

More than 100 personnel from eight federal and local agencies were at the scene, he said.

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Barrels of fuel and water surfaced, but no drugs, as initially reported by a videographer at the scene. It was a human smuggling operation, Luque said.

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