A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter flies over boats searching the area where a boat capsized just off the San Diego coast Sunday, May 2, 2021, in San Diego.

SAN DIEGO — Three people were killed and more than two dozen others were hospitalized Sunday after a boat capsized and broke apart in rough water just off the San Diego coast during a suspected human smuggling operation, authorities said.

Lifeguards, the U.S. Coast Guard and other agencies responded around 10 a.m. following reports of an overturned vessel in the surf near the rocky peninsula of Point Loma, according to the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department.

Seven people were pulled from the waves, including three who drowned, said San Diego Lifeguard Services Lt. Rick Romero. One person was rescued from a cliff and 22 others managed to make it to shore on their own, he said.