SAN DIEGO (Tribune News Service) — A search was underway early Monday after a suspected smuggling boat capsized off Del Mar, killing three people.

Early reports indicated nine people were missing and four survivors were located, a U.S. Coast Guard spokesperson said.

The overturned boat was discovered just north of Torrey Pines State Beach around 6:30 a.m.

A survivor who was interviewed told first responders that nine people were missing, including one or two children, Coast Guard spokesperson Hunter Schnabel said.

Personnel from several agencies were involved in the search, including Coast Guard and San Diego Fire-Rescue helicopters, a 45-foot Coast Guard response boat, and lifeguards in rescue boats and personal watercraft. Some people were combing the beach on foot.

“There are quite a few agencies involved currently,” Schnabel said.

Encinitas Deputy Fire Chief Jorge Sanchez told OnScene.TV that rescuers found multiple people on the beach when they first arrived. He said four people were taken to hospitals, and it was unknown if any other victims were in the water.

Sheriff’s Lt. Nick Backouris said the sheriff’s department will be handling the death investigations.

He said initial reports were that the vessel was a 12-foot panga, but he said he thought the boat might have been a little larger, maybe 20 feet long, based on photos he saw from the scene. “It is an old, beat-up boat,” he said.

Video shot by OnScene.TV showed the boat upright in the water, bobbing in the waves near the shore.

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