The U.S. Coast Guard intercepted a cabin cruiser involved in an apparent human-smuggling attempt gone awry off the coast of Oceanside early Tuesday, officials said.
Authorities took 19 suspected undocumented immigrants into custody.
Crew members of the USCG cutter David Duren boarded the 25-foot private boat about 25 miles offshore of North County at about 2:15 a.m.
All of the occupants of the boat, 18 men and a woman, claimed Mexican nationality, according to USCG public affairs. Though they reported that they had not had food or water for two days, preliminary evaluations uncovered no “major medical concerns” among members of the group, officials said.
The crew of the cutter brought the detainees to Oceanside, where they were transferred to the custody of the Border Patrol.
