Overview
- A good Samaritan reported a suspected smuggling vessel to Coast Guard Sector Los Angeles-Long Beach, prompting a joint response by the Coast Guard and CBP Air and Marine Operations.
- Coast Guard and CBP crews located and boarded the small boat and found 21 people aboard, 20 of whom were taken into U.S. Border Patrol custody.
- Responders found a 56-year-old man unresponsive, began CPR, and had him hoisted by an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center where hospital staff briefly restored his pulse but he later died.
- Officials say the deceased man's identity and where the vessel departed from remain unclear and are under investigation, with officials likely to rely on hospital records and possible autopsy results to determine cause of death.
- Southern California maritime smuggling interceptions are routine operations for the Coast Guard and CBP, and this case highlights ongoing risks to migrants and the agencies' coordinated use of airlifts and Border Patrol custody in such responses.