SAN DIEGO — When a boat carrying about 30 people overturned off the California coast Sunday, two Navy sailors were among those who responded and helped save lives.
The boat overturned in the waters off the coast of San Diego on Sunday morning. The vessel hit the rocky shore along Cabrillo National Monument and tipped over. The boat was then torn apart by waves.
Cale Foy, an active duty rescue swimmer for the Navy, said he and another man named Scott, who is in training to become a Navy SEAL, saw the people in the water and instantly knew what to do.
“Before we jumped in the water we looked at each other and said, 'yeah I’m comfortable going into the water and shore break' — washing machine effect is what we call it — and he’s like, 'yeah I’m good for it too,'" Foy said. "So we smiled at each other and we jumped in and did what we had to do.”
Foy said they used parts of the destroyed boat to create places for people to hold onto in the water. He said they never questioned the need for them to help.
“I gave everything to my wife and said, 'I’ll see you here in a little bit' and just jumped in the water,” he said, later adding that “rescuing is what we do. That’s our line of business.”
Eventually, emergency personnel arrived and began helping with rescue efforts.
Officials said about 30 people were on the boat, which is suspected of being used to smuggle undocumented immigrants into the country. Four people died in the incident and 25 people were hospitalized.
This story was originally published by Leah Pezzetti on Scripps station KGTV in San Diego.
