Eleven people are still missing after a boat overturned off Mexico, prompting fears for their survival after some rescued passengers were reportedly found with serious injuries believed to be consistent with shark bites.
The US Coast Guard (USCG) ended its search on Sunday, October 18, following more than 48 hours of operations across thousands of square miles of open water.
The vessel capsized on Friday, October 16, about 140 miles west of Ensenada, off Mexico’s Baja California peninsula. Officials said 27 people were believed to have entered the water.
Rescuers managed to save 16 people, who were taken to hospitals in San Diego for evaluation and treatment.
The other 11 passengers could not be found, and authorities subsequently suspended the large-scale search effort.
The exact circumstances facing those who remained in the water are unknown. However, reports that some survivors sustained devastating injuries resembling shark bites have intensified questions about what occurred after the boat sank.
Officials have not confirmed that sharks attacked, killed or consumed any of the missing passengers.
The Coast Guard said the rescue response began after watch standers at Coast Guard Sector San Diego received several distress calls at about 1am on Friday.
Search teams later discovered wreckage floating offshore. An aircrew from Coast Guard Air Station Ventura then located and rescued 16 people from the water.
The US Coast Guard suspended its search on Sunday for 11 people believed missing after a boat carrying more than two dozen passengers sank off Mexico’s Baja California coast. Source: AP Photo/Denis Poroy
Twenty-seven people entered the water on Friday, October 16, when a vessel overturned roughly 140 miles west of Ensenada, off Mexico’s Baja California peninsula. Source: AP Photo/Denis Poroy
The survivors were taken to several hospitals in San Diego, where they received medical attention.
The Mexican consulate in San Diego told the news agency that all 16 rescued passengers were Mexican nationals.
Customs and Border Protection officials were interviewing the survivors as investigators worked to establish what led to the maritime disaster, according to the US Coast Guard.
Officials said the boat was travelling along a route commonly associated with illegal maritime smuggling operations when it overturned.
Authorities have not disclosed exactly why the vessel capsized or confirmed where the passengers were heading.
The search operation covered more than 2,441 square miles of ocean before officials announced that it had been suspended.
Rescuers faced difficult conditions while working far from shore, with rough seas and changing weather complicating the effort to locate the missing passengers.
Captain Joseph Meuse, chief of staff for the Coast Guard Southwest District, said the decision to halt the search had been made only after careful consideration.
“Suspending a search is never easy, and this was an exceptionally dynamic case, far offshore, in rough weather,” he said.
A distress call went out around 1 am Friday. Source: AP Photo/Denis Poroy
He also praised the cooperation between American and Mexican authorities, as well as the US Navy, during the operation.
‘We are grateful for the exceptional coordination and assistance from Mexico and the US Navy throughout this challenging operation,’ Captain Meuse added.
However, he issued a stark warning about the dangers associated with suspected human-smuggling operations at sea.
‘We can say with confidence that human traffickers have zero regard for human life and routinely put the lives of illegal aliens and the lives of rescue crews at risk,’ he said.
Several agencies participated in the operation, including Coast Guard Sector San Diego, Coast Guard Air Station Sacramento, Coast Guard Air Station Ventura and a US Navy helicopter from Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 23.
The incident is now under federal investigation, according to the Coast Guard’s latest release.
The Coast Guard has not announced any further details about the identities of the missing individuals or whether additional searches will take place.
