Eight people were hospitalized after a suspected smuggling boat capsized Thursday near Moonlight Beach in Encinitas.
About 5 a.m., Border Patrol agents spotted a panga-style boat approaching the shoreline at Moonlight Beach, said Border Patrol spokesman Jeff Stephenson. When agents arrived, they discovered the vessel had capsized near the shoreline.
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Agents searched the area and found eight people suspected of being on the boat when it capsized, Stephenson said. Those eight were taken to hospitals for treatment of various hypothermic symptoms.
No details about the victims were immediately available.
So far this fiscal year, 1,327 migrants have been encountered illegally entering the U.S. from the ocean along the California coast, Border Patrol officials said. Last year, 1,273 migrants were detained.
