The U.S. Coast Guard suspended its search Sunday evening for an estimated 11 people missing off the Baja California coast following a suspected case of human smuggling.
Sixteen others were rescued during the mission, approximately 140 miles west of Ensenada, officials said Monday.
The multi-day search covered more than 2,441 square miles over a combined 89 hours.
Victims issued a radio distress call in Spanish at about 1 a.m. Friday, reporting that a total of 27 people were in the ocean and that the boat was taking on water and sinking, according to USCG public affairs.
San Diego-based Coast Guard personnel arrived on the scene at about 2 a.m. Friday and coordinated the search and rescue.
One USCG cutter and two Mexican Navy ships continued to search the area on Sunday, according to USCG Petty Officer Charlie Valor. She told City News Service that rescue aircraft and U.S. Navy ships had left the area by Monday.
“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. She did not have an update on the conditions of the people who were rescued and taken to San Diego hospitals.
“We do not know the nature of the vessel and why it was where it was,” Valor said. “This matter is currently a federal investigation. The details are still under investigation.”
The Coast Guard says the vessel was traveling along a route associated with maritime smuggling into the United States.
Valor also told CNS that while the boat was in Mexican waters when it sank Friday, it was in the USCG’s area of responsibility.
Capt. Joseph Meuse, chief of staff for the Coast Guard Southwest District, credited Mexico and the U.S. Navy for their assistance. “Suspending a search is never easy,” he said, “and this was an exceptionally dynamic case, far offshore, in rough weather.”
In addition to the Coast Guard Southwest District and Coast Guard Sector San Diego, Coast Guard Air Stations Ventura and Sacramento and the Coast Guard Cutter Active took part in the search.
U.S. Navy participation featured the USS Kingsville and a helicopter from Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 23. Mexican resources included three vessesl, the ARM Mariano Matamoros, the MLB-101, a 50-foot motor lifeboat and the Sagittarius, a 35-meter buoy tender vessel.
