SUNNY ISLES BEACH, Fla. – Authorities responded to a migrant landing on Sunny Isles Beach Monday morning in what federal officials characterized as a “suspected maritime smuggling event.”
According to the U.S. Border Patrol, 10 Chinese nationals made it ashore.
The landing happened near the Newport Beachside Hotel & Resort at 16701 Collins Ave.
Sky 10 flew over the scene at around 11:30 a.m., where a group of police officers gathered near a pile of items.
“While we were in the hotel we saw like cops and sirens and we were a little bit confused and then when we came outside we saw a bunch of like Asian people that were being stopped,” witness Diego Quevedo said. “Apparently, they were saying they came in a boat and there were like 10-15 of them and they caught like four or five over there.”
Chief Patrol Agent Walter N. Slosar, who leads the Border Patrol’s Miami sector, said the investigation was still ongoing as of early Monday afternoon.