Immigrant boat washes up near Manhattan Beach and El Segundo border, 20 people detained

LACSD officers unload fuel, clothes and shoes that were stored in the boat. Photo by Alene Tchekmedyian

This morning at about 6:45 a.m. a small boat full of illegal immigrants was discovered landing on the beach west of the NRG power plant in El Segundo.

According to the El Segundo Police Department, witnesses reported numerous individuals running from the “panga” style boat in all directions. Police from El Segundo and Manhattan Beach responded along with Los Angeles County Sheriff’s, Los Angeles County Lifeguard and the U.S. Coast Guard to contain the scene. Twenty subjects were detained, which included fifteen males, four women and one juvenile.

panga boat — A "panga" boat containing 20 people apparently trying to immigrate from Mexico washed up near the El Segundo and Manhattan Beach border this morning. Photo by Gus McConnell

According to police, the boat appeared to have been launched from an unknown location in Tijuana, Mexico on March 20. All occupants were attempting to enter the country illegally.
“Everybody is in custody — only bodies, no drugs, no nothing,” an LACSD spokesperson said.
Written on black marker on the boat were the words “Ensenada” and “La Gordita.”

The immigrants were held briefly at the El Segundo police station and then turned over the U.S. Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement. More details to follow.