At least ۱۱ people believed to still be missing, with rescue operations underway.
Published On ۱۷ Oct ۲۰۲۶
The US coastguard has said it rescued ۱۶ people from the Pacific Ocean after a boat sank off Mexico’s Baja coast.
The coastguard said on Friday it responded to a Mayday call reporting that a boat was sinking. The search is ongoing for ۱۱ people believed to be still missing.
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The boat went down about ۲۲۵km (۱۴۰ miles) west of Ensenada, Mexico.
A rescue helicopter reached the site about two hours after someone on the boat transmitted the Mayday call at about ۱am (۰۸:۰۰ GMT) on Friday, said coastguard Lieutenant Santiago Tamburini.
It took about ۹۰ minutes for the coastguard crew, which included a rescue swimmer, to pull the ۱۶ people from the water, Tamburini said.
The people rescued were Mexican nationals, according to the Mexican consulate.
One survivor was being treated for a suspected shark bite and two were in critical condition, authorities said.
The rescued were flown by helicopter to San Diego, California, and transported to hospitals. The Mexican consulate in San Diego said it offered consular assistance.
The coastguard and US Navy are continuing to search the area with two helicopters, a fixed-wing plane, a cutter and a navy combat ship.
The boat sank in an area frequented by smugglers transporting migrants to the US. It is also popular with fishing and leisure boats.
Details about the boat’s origin, destination and what it was doing are not clear. No vessel, only debris, was found, and it was unclear what type of boat was involved, the coastguard said.
“Boats in that area can be for fishing, leisure, personal recreation. We just don’t know what they were doing out there. We all know it’s a suspected smuggling route,” Tamburini said.
