Coast Guard ends search for missing boat after survivors found with shark bites
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The U.S. Coast Guard has ended a search for 11 missing boat passengers after 16 were rescued, several of them with suspected shark bites, off Mexico’s Baja California coast.
Survivors told rescue crews early Friday that 27 people were on board the boat when it capsized about 140 miles (225 kilometres) west of Ensenada, Mexico. Crews spent nearly four days looking for survivors before ending the search late Sunday.
The vessel’s origin and destination were not clear. A mayday call came from someone on the boat at around 1 a.m. on Friday, said Coast Guard Lt. Santiago Tamburini.
A helicopter reached the site two hours later and it took about 90 minutes to rescue 16 people.
“People were holding onto each other, to debris, just treading and trying to stay above water before being rescued,” Tamburini said over the weekend.
Three survivors were treated for injuries consistent with shark bites, Petty Officer Charlie Valor told The New York Times.
“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 Coast Guard said in a statement on Saturday.
The Mexican consulate in San Diego said all those rescued were Mexican nationals. The Coast Guard has said Customs and Border Protection was investigating and interviewing the survivors.
The boat capsized in an area frequented by smugglers outside of U.S. waters, according to the Coast Guard. The U.S. Navy joined the Coast Guard and the Mexican Navy in searching the waters with helicopters, planes and multiple boats.
The region is popular with fishing and leisure boats. Some attempts to transport migrants from Mexico to the U.S. have turned deadly in past years.
In May 2025, at least three people died when a boat flipped off the coast north of the U.S.-Mexico border.
“We are grateful for the exceptional coordination and assistance from Mexico and the U.S. Navy throughout this challenging operation,” Capt. Joseph Meuse, chief of staff, Coast Guard Southwest District, said Sunday. “Suspending a search is never easy, and this was an exceptionally dynamic case, far offshore, in rough weather. 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.”
