SAN DIEGO (AP) — Federal officials on Monday charged a man believed to be the captain of a boat carrying migrants that capsized near San Diego, killing four passengers.
The man, a Mexican national, was charged with two counts of bringing people into the country illegally.
U.S. Border Patrol agents were notified at about 11:30 p.m. Friday of a small boat crossing the international maritime boundary between Mexico and the U.S.
The Border Patrol found the wooden skiff in the surf off Imperial Beach after it had overturned in high waves. Six people were found on the beach just before midnight, one of whom was pronounced dead and another who was rescued after being found under the boat.
About two hours later, authorities received a report of someone in the water near Imperial Beach Pier. A Coast Guard crew responded and found three people in the ocean, all dead.
The five survivors were transported to a hospital for treatment.
According to the complaint, several passengers said the boat had engine problems. They urged the captain to return to Mexico, but he refused.
One man was trapped inside the cabin below deck when the boat overturned and submerged with him and several others inside, the complaint said. He was freed after Border Patrol agents flipped the boat over. Another was injured after he was trapped under the boat and a piece of metal penetrated his leg, the complaint said.
The suspected captain faces up to life in prison or the death penalty if convicted.
“Maritime smuggling is extremely dangerous, and we will prosecute to the fullest extent of the law every individual responsible for these preventable tragedies," U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon said in a press release.
Another man was a passenger on the boat and charged for being deported and trying to enter the U.S. again illegally. He was first removed from the U.S. in 2012 and most recently on Nov. 3 of this year.
Migrants are increasingly turning to the risky alternative offered by smugglers to travel by sea to avoid heavily guarded land borders, including off California’s coast. Vessels leave Mexico in the dead of night and sometimes chart hundreds of miles (kilometers) north.
There have been several incidents in recent years of migrant vessels capsizing en route to California.
This photo provided by the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service shows a capsized boat on Friday, Nov. 14, 2025, off the coast of Imperial Beach, Calif. (Petty Officer 3rd Class Roberto Nieves/Defense Visual Information Distribution Service via AP)
NEW DELHI (AP) — A fire ripped through a popular nightclub in India’s Goa state, killing 25 people, including tourists, the state’s chief minister said Sunday.
The blaze occurred just past midnight in Arpora village in North Goa, a party hub, some 25 kilometers (15-miles) from the state capital, Panaji.
Goa’s Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said most of the dead were the club’s kitchen workers, as well as three to four tourists. Six people were injured and are in stable condition, he said. All the bodies have been recovered.
The fire was caused by a gas cylinder blast and has been extinguished, the Press Trust of India news agency reported, quoting local police. However, witnesses told the agency that the fire began on the club’s first floor, where nearly 100 tourists were on the dance floor. Several rushed to the kitchen below in the chaos and got trapped along with staff, it said.
Fatima Shaikh said the commotion began as flames erupted, according to the news agency. “We rushed out of the club only to see that the entire structure was up in flames,” she said.
The nightclub, located along the Arpora River backwaters, had a narrow entry and exit that forced the firefighters to park their tankers about 400 meters (1,300 feet) away, delaying the efforts, the news agency said.
Sawant said the club had violated fire safety regulations. The state government ordered an inquiry to determine the exact cause of the fire and responsibility, he said, adding that authorities would act against the club management and officials who allowed it to operate despite the violations.
Local village council official Roshan Redkar told the news agency that authorities had earlier issued a demolition notice for the club, which didn't have construction permit from the government. But higher officials rolled back the order, he said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a social media post called the fire "deeply saddening# and said he spoke with Sawant. Modi said the government “is providing all possible assistance” while offering condolences to the victims’ families.
Accidents, particularly involving gas cylinders and electric short circuits, aren’t uncommon in India and often result in casualties, underlining the need for authorities to implement stringent safety protocols.
“This is not just an accident; it is a criminal failure of safety and governance,” Rahul Gandhi, a top leader of India’s main opposition Congress party, wrote in a social media post. He called for a transparent probe to "fix accountability and ensure such preventable tragedies don’t occur again.”
The western coastal state of Goa is one of India’s most popular tourist destinations, known for its sandy beaches.
The charred interiors of a nightclub, which caught fire early Sunday, are seen in Arpora, Goa, India, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025. (AP Photo)
