SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — Eighteen people aboard a disabled vessel off the coast of San Diego were rescued Sunday, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.

Around 7:55 a.m., a 35-foot vessel with 17 migrants and one American aboard began to take water about 50 miles southwest of San Diego, the Coast Guard said in a news release Monday.

A Coast Guard Air Station San Diego MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter aircrew and a crew on an inflatable boat from the destroyer USS Spruance responded to the scene.

All 18 people were rescued from the water and safely brought aboard the Spruance, according to the Coast Guard.

“Irregular maritime migration aboard unseaworthy or overloaded vessels is always dangerous, and often deadly. Do not take to the sea. You could lose your life. We remain steadfast in our commitment to saving lives and discouraging anyone from taking to the sea in ways that are unsafe and illegal,” the Coast Guard said in the release.

The individuals were then taken to Coast Guard Sector San Diego after transporting them from the Spruance to an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter over two separate flights.

All 18 people were transferred to Department of Homeland Security partners.