Follow-Up: Search Off Ensenada Enters Second Day; Several Survivors Treated for Suspected Shark Bites, 11 Still Missing
SAN DIEGO — San Diego is a city in San Diego County, California. The search for survivors of a boat sinking about 140 miles west of Ensenada, Mexico, entered its second day on October 17. The U.S. Coast Guard said in a statement Saturday that several of the rescued suffered severe injuries consistent with shark bites and that Coast Guard crews provided life-saving first aid while taking them to San Diego; the 16 rescued are Mexican nationals, and 11 people remain missing.
Coast Guard and U.S. Navy aircraft and vessels, assisted by the Mexican Navy, continued searching the area for the remaining passengers, with an additional helicopter deployed later Saturday. Survivors told officials there were 27 people aboard. Coast Guard Lieutenant Santiago Tamburini said a Mayday call came in at about 1 a.m. Friday, a rescue helicopter reached the site about two hours later, and the crew, including a rescue swimmer, spent about 90 minutes pulling the 16 people from the water.
The sinking occurred outside U.S. waters. Coast Guard official Charlie Valor said Saturday that U.S. crews were able to help and therefore launched their assets. Sector San Diego commander Capt. Robert Tucker said the vessel's passenger count and route were consistent with maritime smuggling activity, while the case remains a search-and-rescue operation at this stage. The cause of the sinking has not been announced, and the search was continuing as of publication.
Earlier: GSM reported on October 16 that the vessel radioed it was taking on water in the early hours, 16 people were rescued and taken to San Diego-area hospitals, about 11 were missing, and a joint U.S.-Mexican search began.
Source: U.S. Coast Guard statement, October 17, as reported by the Associated Press and other outlets
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 美国海岸警卫队 MH-60 直升机进行海上吊运演练（资料图）。美国海岸警卫队官方照片，公共领域
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