Boat full of Migrants suspected of trying to make Illegal Entry in US collides with US Border vessel

Authorities said that a boat packed with migrants has collided with an American border vessel off California's coast in which the boat turned upside down leaving a woman dead. It is suspected that migrants were trying to enter into the US illegally and Mexico is calling investigation into the matter.

Mexico's Foreign Relations Department said that one person is seriously injured and two more have suffered minor injuries. The US Customs and Border Protection vessel spotted the human smuggling boat near Encinitas in San Diego County before dawn Thursday. They instructed the migrants’ boat to stop and fired warning shots, but the vessel having 20 people on board ignored them.

Jackie Wasiluk, a CBP spokeswoman, said that the two boats collided and the suspected smuggling boat capsized. The CBP crew saved people and an unconscious woman was airlifted to hospital. The others were taken into custody. For now, it is not known as whether the smuggling boat has intentionally hit the boat or it was just an accident.

Generally, smugglers use small boats, known as panga boats. These boats are used to smuggle drugs or people from Mexico into the US and avoid heavily patrolled ground border areas. The illegal migration route is full of risks and confrontations with the US authorities.

“It paints a real picture as to the risk involved when you have vulnerable groups who are trying to cross and they encounter what they might perceive as federal officials shooting at them”, said Pedro Rios, director of the American Friends Service Committee.