CBP and Coast Guard Rescue 15 Foreign Nationals Off the Coast of San Diego

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

San Diego, Calif. - U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the U.S. Coast Guard rescued 15 foreign nationals off the coast of San Diego this morning, officials announced today.

At about 8 a.m., CBP Air and Marine agents and Coast Guard personnel heard a radio report from a sea-towing company that a vessel appeared to be in distress. The sea-towing company in San Diego had received a call from a passing pleasure boat and put out a call on a maritime radio channel monitored by boaters and law enforcement agencies.

A CBP Air and Marine go fast boat and a 33-foot Coast Guard rescue vessel responded to the call and arrived at the 24-foot blue and white skipjack boat at about 8:30 a.m., 20 miles north of the border with Mexico and 12 miles off the San Diego coast.

CBP and Coast Guard personnel provided water to the 15 adult individuals, including four females, who complained of hunger and thirst. Some appeared to be sunburned and dehydrated. There were no reports of serious injuries. They stated that they had been without food or water for the past three days.

Nine of the individuals were loaded onto the CBP Midnight Express vessel and the remaining six were placed on the Coast Guard vessel.