Search ends for more survivors from boat that sank off Mexico's Baja California coast

The U.S. Coast Guard has called off the search for 11 people believed missing after a boat thought to be carrying more than two dozen people sank off Mexico’s Baja California coast.

Rescuers saved 16 of those who were on board, including several who had suspected shark bites, the Coast Guard said. Crews spent nearly four days looking for survivors before ending the search late Sunday.

The boat capsized in an area frequented by smugglers outside of U.S. waters, according to the Coast Guard. Survivors pulled from the water early Friday told officials there were 27 people on board.

A mayday call came from someone on the boat around 1 a.m. Friday, said Coast Guard Lt. Santiago Tamburini. A helicopter reached the site two hours later, and it took about 90 minutes to rescue the 16 people, Tamburini said.

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 agency did not immediately respond to requests on Monday for an update on the status of the federal investigation.

Both the Coast Guard and the U.S. Navy along with the Mexican Navy searched the waters with helicopters, planes and multiple boats.

The boat went down about 140 miles (225 kilometers) west of Ensenada, Mexico. The boat’s origin and destination were not clear.

The region is popular with fishing and leisure boats, but 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. In 2023, eight people were killed in one of the deadliest maritime smuggling accidents off the U.S. coast, when two boats approached a San Diego beach in heavy fog and one capsized in the surf.