OCEAN BEACH, Calif. (KGTV) — A boat was found capsized in Ocean Beach Saturday morning, prompting San Diego Lifeguards to rescue dozens of migrants from the water.
A San Diego lieutenant said the boat is suspected to have been smuggling between 20-30 people in.
Ed Baier, a freelance photojournalist, caught with his camera the moments lifeguards saved migrants from the ocean but said surfers and locals also played a huge role in helping the migrants, who were visibly traumatized.
"With all the stuff that's going on down at the border, not to get into politics, but this just shows that there is human compassion out there for when these people do get in trouble like this," Baier said.
Baier said he also saw locals responding to how shaken up the migrants were.
"Some of the locals gave them blankets, helped them take off some of their wet clothes, and just rendered comfort and aid," Baier said.
San Diego Lifeguards saw the boat capsize in the surf line around 7:20 a.m. Saturday.
The lifeguards immediately responded, but they were helped by surfers who were already out nearby when the boat flipped over.
"I could hear over the radio that a lot of the surfers were helping them come to the beach," Baier said.
Lt. Rick Romera with the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department Lifeguard Division said two migrants were still stuck inside the boat when it washed up on shore. The conditions Saturday morning made it difficult for the lifeguards who were trying to rescue them.
"I t was just too dangerous while it's in the water, and bouncing around, to go inside the vessel," Romero said. "Once the boat kind of got closer to the shore, it was a little more stable. Lifeguards we're able to break the window and get two people out."
Romero said one person was conscious, but the other wasn't. Lifeguard crews performed CPR on the unconscious migrant and were then taken to a hospital.
Lt. Ric Stell, San Diego Fire-Rescue Department Lifeguard Division, said his condition is still unknown.
The overall rescue took under an hour.
After the last person was pulled from the water, the rest of the migrants were seen either taken to hospitals or leaving the beach.
The San Diego Police Department does not have jurisdiction over undocumented immigrants, and ABC 10News contacted Border Patrol to see if they responded to this incident.
Lt. Stell said Border Patrol did arrange for the boat to be towed away.
Lt. Romero also said that as of Saturday morning, this was the second smuggler's boat sighting.
The first boat was spotted around 6 a.m. at Scripps Pier.
"It happens on a weekly basis," Romero said.
