Local lifeguards, the U.S. Coast Guard and other agencies responded around 10:30 a.m. following reports of an overturned vessel near the peninsula of Point Loma, according to the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department.
Three people died at the scene and 27 people were transported to hospitals with “varying degrees of injuries,” department spokesman Jose Ysea said.
Ysea said when he arrived on scene near the Cabrillo National Monument there was a “large debris field” of broken wood and other items in the choppy waters.
“In that area of Point Loma it’s very rocky. It’s likely the waves just kept pounding the boat, breaking it apart,” Ysea said.
He said it was possible, but not confirmed, that the group had been packed in a low-slung panga boat, a type of motorized vessel often made of wood used by smugglers to bring people illegally into the U.S. from Mexico.
Officials said the initial call indicated only one person was aboard the vessel but when they arrived, they found more and more people at the scene. A total of 30 people have been found, but the Coast Guard was still searching for more, since there was no official record of how many people were actually on the boat.
Seven people were found in the water, including three who had drowned, officials said. Others were found on the beach.
It is not clear where the boat was headed, and no word on what caused the boat to overturn.
This happened in federal water jurisdiction, so federal officials will handle the investigation. San Diego is assisting federal authorities.
DEVELOPING: We will add more details to this report as they become available. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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