Coast Guard Rescues 16, Searches Off Baja

Early Friday, Oct. 16, 2026, the U.S. Coast Guard responded around 1 a.m. PT to reports of a boat taking on water about 140 miles west of Ensenada, Mexico. Crews found people in the water and boat debris but no vessel. Petty Officer Chris Sappey said, "There was no sight of a vessel in the water, just straight people in the water." At least 16 people were rescued and taken to hospitals in San Diego. The Coast Guard assisted Mexican authorities with a helicopter, a fixed-wing plane and a cutter as the search continued for others who may be missing. One survivor said as many as 27 people had been aboard a boat. A Coast Guard Southwest update initially put the number rescued at 15. Sappey said it was unclear why the people were in the water. Jose Ysea with the San Diego Fire Department said the incident was a human-smuggling operation; the Coast Guard would not confirm that. Earlier incidents off California cited in accounts include at least three deaths when a panga flipped in May 2025 about 35 miles north of the border, eight killed in 2023 when a smuggling boat capsized in surf, and a 2022 case in which a San Diego man received 18 years for piloting an overloaded vessel that killed three.