The US coastguard said it has rescued 16 people from the Pacific Ocean after a boat sank off Mexico’s Baja coast. Eleven people are believed to still be missing, and the search is continuing.
The coastguard said on Friday that it had responded to a Mayday call reporting a sinking boat. The vessel went down about 225km (140 miles) west of Ensenada, Mexico.
Helicopter crew pulls survivors from the water
Coastguard Lieutenant Santiago Tamburini said a rescue helicopter reached the scene roughly two hours after the distress call, which was made at about 1am (08:00 GMT) on Friday. A crew that included a rescue swimmer then spent about 90 minutes lifting the 16 people out of the sea.
The Mexican consulate said those rescued were Mexican nationals. Authorities said one survivor was being treated for a suspected shark bite, and two were in critical condition. The survivors were flown to San Diego, California, and taken to hospitals, where the Mexican consulate said it had offered consular help.
Search continues in known smuggling corridor
The coastguard and US Navy are still searching the area using two helicopters, a fixed-wing plane, a cutter and a navy combat ship. So far only debris has been found, and the coastguard said it was unclear what type of boat was involved.
The sinking occurred in a zone that smugglers use to move migrants towards the US, and it is also popular with fishing and leisure boats. Details of the boat’s origin, destination and purpose remain unclear. Tamburini said: “We just don’t know what they were doing out there. We all know it’s a suspected smuggling route.”
