FOR PROMO IMAGE USE ONLY FORESTDALE 06/14/22 A big salute from the skies above as a Coast Guard rescue helicopter makes a low flyover the ceremony precisely at 10 am at the Forestdale Elementary School's annual Flag Day celebration on the Sandwich school's front lawn. Steve Heaslip/Cape Cod Times
San Diego, California – The U.S. Coast Guard and Navy rescued 18 people, most of them migrants, from a sinking vessel in international waters about 50 miles southwest of San Diego on Sunday morning.
According to a Coast Guard press release, the 35-foot vessel was found taking on water and calling for help around 7:55 a.m. The USS Spruance, a Navy destroyer, deployed a 7-meter inflatable boat to assist in the rescue. A team from the Spruance successfully brought all 18 individuals—17 migrants and one American—aboard the Navy ship.
Following the initial rescue, a Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew made two trips to transport all passengers from the Spruance to Coast Guard Sector San Diego. Officials later confirmed that all 18 individuals were handed over to the Department of Homeland Security for further processing.
Authorities warned against the dangers of attempting to enter the U.S. illegally by sea. “Irregular maritime migration aboard unseaworthy or overloaded vessels is always dangerous, and often deadly,” the Coast Guard said in a statement. “Do not take to the sea. You could lose your life.”
The agency reaffirmed its commitment to both saving lives and preventing illegal maritime crossings, a growing concern along the California coastline.
