One person was reported dead and seven others missing Monday afternoon after a fishing boat carrying 27 U.S. tourists and 16 Mexican crew members capsized in rough seas in the Sea of Cortez, officials said.
The 27 tourists, most of them from California, were aboard the charter vessel Erick when a sudden storm struck the area about 2:30 a.m., hurling people into the ocean in the vicinity of San Luis Island, about 60 miles south of the Baja California port of San Felipe, the Mexican Navy said in a statement. The body water in which the ship capsized is also known as the Gulf of California.
Some of the first people rescued were two tourists and the boat's cook, they were plucked from the water by a Mexican fishing boat, according to witnesses.
A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter from San Diego was assisting the Mexican navy as rescue crews scoured the area for survivors, said Coast Guard Petty Officer Pamela Boehland.
All of the 16 Mexican crew members were rescued.