The U.S. Coast Guard rescued sixteen people from the open Pacific on Friday after a radio distress call reported a sinking boat about 140 miles west of Ensenada, Mexico, and search teams were still looking Saturday for eleven others believed missing from the same incident.
Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector San Diego said they received the mayday in Spanish at about 1 a.m. local time Friday. The caller reported twenty-seven people in the water and that the vessel was taking on water. By the time rescue aircraft and cutters reached the area, the boat had gone down; crews found debris and floating seats but no intact hull.
From open water to San Diego hospitals
Sixteen survivors — all Mexican nationals, according to the Mexican consulate in San Diego — were hoisted or recovered and flown to the San Diego area. San Diego Fire-Rescue said thirteen ambulances transported patients to hospitals; two people were in critical condition. Scripps Mercy Hospital told reporters it was treating patients including one with a possible shark bite and another with cold exposure.
In a statement Saturday, the Coast Guard said several rescued people had “severe injuries consistent with shark bites” and that crews provided lifesaving first aid while en route to shore. Petty Officer Charlie Valor told City News Service that search planners were studying currents, waves and wind to estimate where survivors or remains might drift.
Joint search and an unclear voyage
The Coast Guard said Saturday that it was continuing to coordinate with the U.S. Navy and Mexican Navy. Social posts from the service’s Southwest district said no additional individuals had been found but that the effort was ongoing. Lieutenant Santiago Tamburini told reporters Friday that only debris remained when responders arrived, and that floating seats were helping investigators narrow what type of vessel had been lost.
Officials have not confirmed the boat’s origin, destination or purpose. The Coast Guard described the location as along a known maritime smuggling route, and NBC San Diego reported that Customs and Border Protection said its officers were not part of the initial response. The consulate said it activated consular protection protocols and visited hospitals to offer assistance.
What happens next
Weather, visibility and the elapsed time since the mayday all weigh on the search window. Families in Mexico and the United States are waiting on identifications and on whether the eleven missing are still in the water, adrift on debris or never reached the reported head count. Mexican and U.S. authorities have not released a manifest; the twenty-seven figure came from the distress call itself.
For San Diego hospitals, the immediate task is stabilizing trauma and hypothermia cases while investigators document the scene offshore. For the Coast Guard, the priority remains saturating the search box west of Baja with aircraft and cutters until the missing are found or the case transitions to a recovery effort.