In separate events, the U.S. Border Patrol discovered the bodies of two Mexican men who had attempted to enter the country illegally through the San Diego coast.
In the first incident, three individuals tried to swim from the beach area of Playas de Tijuana toward Imperial Beach, according to Michael Jimenez, of the Border Patrol.
A Department of Homeland Security marine unit detected two people near the coast around 10:45 Tuesday night. When they looked for the third person in the group they found the body of a man, who had apparently drowned.
The second event occurred around 2:30 a.m. Wednesday, when Border Patrol agents found a "panga" ferrying nine men and six women in Pacific Beach.
Given the rough surf, the boat had made a hard landing on the beach near Mission Boulevard.
Agents searched for the boat's passengers following footprints on the sand. When they reached the panga, they found the body of a man face down. They detained the other passengers, 11 of whom were treated at a hospital for bumps and bruises and one from hyperthermia.
"This is a message of how dangerous it is to cross by water," said Jimenez. "The criminal groups who do this transport people without lifesaver vests, and, on occasion, abandon them to their fate."
He did not immediately provide names and ages of the persons who died, but said they were both from Mexico.
In the last 12 months, a total of six people have died trying to enter the country illegally through the San Diego County coast.
There's been an increase in the number of people who have attempted to enter the country illegally this way since 2008.
For that reason, U.S. authorities formed a maritime unit – made up of agents from Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Border Patrol – that patrols the coast from the border with Tijuana to Long Beach.
In 2009, this unit arrested 400 undocumented immigrants, a number that increased to 867 in 2010 but dropped to 631 in fiscal year 2011, which ended Sept. 30.
Alexandra.mendoza@sandiegored.com
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