Overview
- The U.S. Coast Guard found people floating in the open ocean about 120–140 miles west of Ensenada after a mayday call around 1 a.m. on Friday and pulled 16 survivors from the water.
- Rescuers flew the recovered people to San Diego hospitals where officials said two were in critical condition and one received treatment for a suspected shark bite.
- U.S. and Mexican maritime authorities, supported by U.S. Navy aircraft and a combat ship, are using helicopters, a fixed-wing plane and a cutter to search the area for as many as 11 people whom survivors said were on the boat.
- No intact vessel has been found and investigators have not confirmed the boat’s origin, destination, type, or whether the incident involved human smuggling.
- The incident took place on a route frequently used by small pangas and other craft, a pattern that has led to deadly capsizings in prior years and that complicates rescue work because departures are often at night and wreckage can be hard to locate.