Baja California Search Continues After Capsize and Shark Attack

Several survivors suffered suspected shark bites after a boat traveling from Mexico capsized off Baja California, the US Coast Guard said.

Sixteen Mexican nationals were rescued Friday, while crews continued searching for 11 people believed to be missing.

“Several of the individuals rescued were suffering from severe injuries consistent with shark bites, and the Coast Guard provided life-saving first aid while en route [to] San Diego,” the agency said in a statement Saturday.

The US Coast Guard and Navy deployed multiple aircraft and vessels to search the area, with support from the Mexican Navy. The Coast Guard said another helicopter would join the operation later Saturday.

The vessel capsized outside US waters in an area known to be used by smugglers. Survivors told officials that 27 people had been aboard.

“We were able to help, and that’s why we launched our assets,” Petty Officer Charlie Valor said Saturday.

The waters are popular with fishing and recreational boaters, although fatal migrant smuggling attempts from Mexico to the United States have occurred there before.

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The Mexican consulate in San Diego confirmed that everyone rescued was a Mexican national. The Coast Guard said Customs and Border Protection was interviewing the survivors as part of its investigation, but the agency did not immediately respond to requests for an update.

Survivors who witnessed a crime may qualify for humanitarian parole, allowing them to remain in the United States for a limited period.

The search continued Saturday with helicopters, a fixed-wing aircraft, a Coast Guard cutter and a Navy combat ship.

Mayday call around 1 a.m.

A mayday call came from the boat at about 1 a.m. Friday, according to Coast Guard Lt. Santiago Tamburini. A rescue helicopter arrived roughly two hours later.

Tamburini said it took the helicopter crew, including a rescue swimmer, about 90 minutes to pull all 16 survivors from the water.

The boat sank approximately 140 miles west of Ensenada, Mexico. Several migrant vessels have capsized while traveling toward California in recent years.

In May 2025, at least three people died when a boat overturned about 35 miles north of the US-Mexico border.

Eight people were killed in one of the deadliest maritime smuggling incidents off the US coast in 2023, when two boats approached a San Diego beach in dense fog and one capsized in the surf.