Americans Rescued in Mexican Boat Accident

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.

6.9 Magnitude Earthquake hits off Mexico's Baja California

A powerful magnitude 6.9 quake struck in the Sea of Cortez off Mexico's Baja California on Thursday, rattling buildings in tourist resorts but there were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.

"It was felt strongly, the lamp (on the ceiling) moved but there is no damage, not even broken glass," said Monserrat Gorostieta, a receptionist at a hotel in the resort of La Paz in Baja California.

Civil Defense officials in the state of Sinaloa on the east coast of the Sea of Cortez said they had no reports of damage but were investigating reports that some buildings had possible been evacuated.