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Michelle Clock
San Diego Union Tribune
Saturday, May 8, 2010 at 11:49 a.m

24 found in panga off coast detained

A Coast Guard cutter early Saturday morning found an outboard motor boat loaded with 24 suspected undocumented migrants off the San Diego coast about 35 southwest of Point Loma.

The 87-foot San Diego-based cutter Edisto was on routine patrol in the Pacific Ocean just north of the border around 4 a.m. when it found the boat, called a panga.

The 21 men and three women on the boat were transferred to the U.S. Border Patrol, said Coast Guard Petty Officer 1st Class Allyson Conroy. The condition of the boat or its passengers were not known, although Conroy said the situation was potentially dangerous.

“They put a lot of people on board which then creates a safety issue for the people,” Conroy said.

An empty panga also turned up early Saturday on a La Jolla beach.

San Diego lifeguards reported finding the boat at about 6 a.m. near the foot of Palomar Avenue, south of Windansea Beach. U.S. Customs and Border Protection took the boat, according to a Coast Guard spokeswoman.


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