SAN DIEGO — A boat carrying 18 migrants was rescued 50 miles off the coast of Ensenada, Mexico Wednesday after an issue with the pleasure craft’s motor stranded them out at sea without food and water for five days, a U.S. Coast Guard San Diego official told FOX 5.
The Coast Guard received a distress call around 4 p.m. about the 20-foot pleasure craft’s motor breaking down, according to the military official.
The Coast Guard was able to helicopter five females and two males, two of which are children, onboard the boat to San Diego, while the remaining 11 passengers were picked up by the Mexican Navy known as “C-Mar” and brought back to Ensenada, per the Coast Guard.
The boat had taken in water on its deck, but officials say it wasn’t enough to sink it.
“#Hypothermia CAN occur in any water temperature below 70°F. During today’s rescue, the air and sea temperatures were close to 60°F #PleaseDontTakeToTheSea,” the USCG Southern California tweeted.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection will be moving forward with the case, as they will soon process the migrants.
FOX 5’s Sarah Alegre contributed to this report.