The search for 11 people missing after a boat sank off the coast of Ensenada on Friday continued for a third day on Sunday, with U.S. Coast Guard personnel working with Mexican Navy ships.
Sixteen people were plucked from the water about 140 miles west of Ensenada early Friday after someone on the ship made a distress call around 1 a.m. in Spanish saying 27 people were in the ocean and the boat was taking on water and sinking, the Coast Guard said.
All 16 known survivors were Mexican nationals who were taken to San Diego-area hospitals, , including Scripps Mercy and Scripps Memorial, for evaluation and treatment.
No additional people have been found since Friday.
A Coast Guard helicopter based out of Ventura was first to reach the site, about 2 a.m., and its crew reported finding 16 people in the water about 140 miles off Ensenada. The boat was not located, but searchers found debris from a vessel.
The rescued passengers were flown to the Coast Guard’s San Diego headquarters, where 13 ambulances were waiting to take them to hospitals for evaluation and treatment. San Diego Fire-Rescue Assistant Fire Chief Brian Raines said during an early morning news conference that two of them were reported to be in critical condition, and the rest had moderate injuries.
It was not immediately clear if any had been wearing lifejackets. A U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesperson on Friday confirmed that the vessel was a suspected smuggling boat.
One Coast Guard cutter and two Mexican Navy ships were still on scene searching the area Sunday, according to Coast Guard spokesperson Charlie Valor. She said a Coast Guard helicopter and rescue airplane also were assisting in the search.
“We are using these resources because we have reason to believe there is a possibility they are still alive and able to be rescued,” Valor said.
Three of the rescued people sustained injuries consistent with shark bites, she said. The condition of those who were hospitalized was not released.
A U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesperson on Friday confirmed that the vessel was a suspected smuggling boat. The Coast Guard said the boat was traveling along a route associated with maritime smuggling into the United States.
In a statement issued Friday, the Mexican consulate acknowledged the coordinated work of hospitals, medical services, and maritime and air rescue agencies on both sides of the border.
“The Mexican Consulate General in San Diego immediately activated its emergency protocol after being informed about the Coast Guard’s humanitarian rescue operation for the passengers of a vessel that sank 140 nautical miles west of Ensenada, Baja California,” the statement said. “Personnel from the Protection Department of the consular representation went to different hospitals in San Diego County, managing to locate and provide direct assistance to 16 Mexican nationals who were transferred to said health centers for their medical evaluation after the incident at sea.”
It was unclear when the search would be called off. Officials said it would depend on such things as weather and sea conditions. Coordination of the Coast Guard rescue effort was being handled out of Alameda.
Staff writer Karen Kucher contributed to this report.