Little more than a week after a panga boat full of suspected illegal migrants landed on a California beach near the homes of Hollywood stars, another vessel was spotted Wednesday morning in the area.
A homeowner reported seeing the panga boat — narrow, high-bowed vessels often used by human and drug smugglers — at Malibu’s El Pescador Beach around 5:30 a.m. Wednesday. The Los Angeles County Fire Department was first on the scene.
Panga boats are often used to smuggle illegal immigrants and drugs. (KTTV)
Responding units found the overturned boat on the shoreline with a debris field, including 15 fuel canisters and a few personal items, a spokesman told Fox News Digital.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and U.S. Border Patrol were alerted and opened an investigation.
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The U.S. Coast Guard responded to the scene and lifeguards were monitoring the area for signs of people in distress.
A panga boat washed ashore on a beach in Malibu, California. (KTTV)
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The sighting comes after a boat full of suspected illegal migrants landed on a beach in Malibu last week. An exclusive video, obtained by Fox News’ Bill Melugin, shows a boat pulling up to a beach the morning of Nov. 28.
Around 25 people can be seen leaping out of the vessel and dashing towards land. The boat is then left in the water.
Ritzy Malibu is home to countless liberal celebrities such as Barbra Streisand, Leonardo DiCaprio and Cher, and is full of high-end luxury homes, many of which are on the waterfront close to where the boat beached.
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Melugin said such a landing, which is a common tactic used by illegal immigrants descending on European countries, is extremely rare given that Malibu is more than 100 miles north of the border. He said it was unclear if anyone was apprehended.
Malibu is about 30 miles west of downtown Los Angeles.
Fox News’ Michael Dorgan contributed to this report.
