Authorities made a horrifying discovery Wednesday after intercepting a small boat 14 miles west of San Clemente Island off the Southern California coast.
Officials with the Coast Guard and Customs and Border Protection found 21 illegal migrants packed onto the small boat.
As they boarded, authorities found an unresponsive 56-year-old man and performed CPR on him before a military helicopter flew him to a Los Angeles hospital.
“A Coast Guard Air Station Ventura MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew was diverted to conduct a medical evacuation,” officials said in a release. “The aircrew hoisted the patient and continued CPR while transporting him to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles.”
Hospital staff had managed to restore the man’s pulse, but the man ultimately did not survive.
Images from the Coast Guard show a small vessel packed with several occupants wearing life jackets.
Officials were notified of the boat by “a good Samaritan reporting a suspected alien smuggling vessel near San Clemente Island.” It’s unclear where the boat departed from.
The other 20 illegal immigrants were detained and transferred to US Border Patrol personnel, officials said.
San Clemente Island, part of California’s Channel Islands, is located about 78 miles west of San Diego.
The deceased man’s identity is unclear.
