The Coast Guard is continuing a search for 11 people after their boat capsized early Friday, 140 miles from Ensenada, Mexico, on the Pacific Coast.
Emergency crews were able to rescue 16 people, as divers from the U.S. Coast Guard rappelled from helicopters to reach the passengers who were floating amid debris. The boat was no longer in sight when the Coast Guard arrived.
Those rescued were taken to a base in San Diego and then to area hospitals. Three survivors suffered injuries consistent with shark bites, Petty Officer Charlie Valor, of the Coast Guard, said in an interview on Sunday.
Two of the 16 survivors are Mexican nationals, the Coast Guard said. The Mexican Navy was assisting in the search, the authorities said.
The boat’s point of departure and destination remain unclear, as do the circumstances that caused it to capsize. It was unknown if the vessel was being operated for commercial, recreational or other purposes.
The Coast Guard received a distress call around 1 a.m. on Friday after reports of a boat “taking on water.”
A mix of aircraft and ships responded to the area, 69 miles west of San Clemente Island.
Helicopter crews saw the remnants of a capsized boat when they arrived around an hour after the distress call. Officials said they planned to continue to search for the 11 missing — until there is reason to believe they may not be alive.
“There is a chance that there could still be survivors in the water,” Petty Officer Valor said.
On Sunday, the Coast Guard confirmed that Homeland Security Investigations would lead an inquiry into the accident, instead of the Coast Guard Investigative Service unit.
The Pacific Ocean off the coast of Baja California and Southern California has become a popular route for migrant smugglers. In 2023, eight people died when their boat capsized in what the authorities described as a human smuggling operation gone awry. Two similar episodes last year, one in May and one in November, left a total of at least seven people dead.
In all three of those episodes, the passengers were riding in panga boats, open boats that can carry people or drugs.
Two Mexican citizens pleaded guilty earlier this year in connection with the four deaths in the May 2025 accident, in which prosecutors said the passengers paid smugglers about $13,500 per person.
Remy Tumin and Simon Romero contributed reporting.
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