by EFE
San Diego.—
The Consulate of Mexico in San Diego on Monday identified seven of the eight people who died off the coast of San Diego, California, as Mexicans when the boat they were trying to reach the United States capsized last Saturday.
"Based on the identifications that some carried, it is presumed that seven of these people are nationals of Mexico, coming from states in the interior of the Republic," the consulate explained in a statement.
[A Latina who was on one of the boats that crashed in San Diego was the one who called 911]
He added that as soon as there is confirmation from the San Diego County coroner, the relatives of the victims will be notified of their death.
The diplomatic headquarters also confirmed that one of two boats carrying migrants managed to reach the beach known as Black Beach, located north of San Diego.
On Saturday, March 12, eight people trying to reach the US died in a shipwreck in California.
In the image, one of the boats in which undocumented immigrants went on Blacks Beach in San Diego.Gregory Bull / AP
In this regard, Consul Carlos González Gutiérrez warned that human traffickers use tricks to make journeys that can result in fatal incidents.
“People planning to cross the border into the US by land or sea should be aware that human smugglers take advantage of their need to obtain illicit money, distorting reality, creating false expectations and exposing them to high-risk conditions in those who can lose their lives ”, he deepened.
[This was the message with false information that triggered a confrontation at the border]
The events occurred on Saturday night, when the rescue teams received an alert call in Spanish for a capsizing of one of two boats carrying migrants.
A woman called the emergency number from one of the boats' vessels to report that the other craft had capsized.
Rescue teams that arrived at the scene found an overturned boat and seven lifeless bodies, while another deceased was found later.
Immigrants attempt to cross into the US en masse, outrunning the National Guard in Mexico
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The search tasks lasted all night due to bad weather on the Californian coast, covered in a layer of fog.
San Diego Lifeguard Chief James Gartland said they searched for an hour without finding any survivors, possibly because the rest of the migrants made it ashore.
“This is one of the worst maritime smuggling tragedies I can think of in California,” Gartland said.