Ahmedabad, May 9 -- On May 5, a small wooden boat capsized in rough waters off Torrey Pines State Beach, about 30 miles north of the US-Mexico border near San Diego. The panga - a flat-bottomed fishing vessel traditionally used in Mexico and Central America - was carrying at least 16 people in a suspected human smuggling operation. Among them was the Patel family from Mehsana district of Gujarat, attempting to illegally enter the US from Mexico. The tragedy claimed the lives of 10-year-old Prince Patel, son of Brijesh and Sangita Patel, while their 14-year-old daughter, Mahi Patel, remains missing. Brijesh, 39, and Sangita, 38, are hospitalised in San Diego with severe injuries, confronting both physical trauma and the devastating loss of their children. Kinjal Patel, 36, Brijesh's relative, told HT that the family originated from Anandpura village in Kukarwada, Mehsana, where they can trace their roots back 150-200 years, and where they still have an ancestral house, though they had been living in Ahmedabad for some years now. "We learned through news channels only a couple of days ago," Kinjal said. He said early reports got Brijesh and Sangita's names wrong, but Nikesh and Jiya's names were correct. "The initial news had different names for the parents, which confused us, but the children's names were proper," Kinjal said. He said the family had tourist visas for London and left India before Diwali 2024, leading relatives to believe they were in London. "They went for a vacation, we thought," he said. Kinjal added that he spoke with them a few times but had no idea how they ended up in San Diego. "We have no clarity about what has happened," he said. Smuggling networks charge exorbitant fees to transport migrants through complex international pathways. Alternative routes include hazardous sea passages to Europe....