SAN DIEGO (NEWS 8/CNS) - A Mexican fishing boat caught fire and burned 30 miles south of San Diego, and while 15 people were rescued by a U.S.- flagged vessel, three people remained missing Sunday.
Crew members onboard the Time Machine, a charter fishing boat out of San Diego's Harbor Island, saw the Mexican boat on fire at about 9:35 p.m. Saturday, off the coast of Rosarito, Baja California, about 30 miles south of Point Loma.
A Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew transfers two patients to emergency medical services personnel at Coast Guard Sector San Diego Oct. 20, 2018. (Photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Patrick Kelley/U.S. Coast Guard photo)
According to the Coast Guard Station San Diego, the crew of the Time Machine radioed the U.S. Coast Guard to report they were rescuing multiple people in the water. They launched Cutter Haddock, a 45-foot response boat, and an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter to assist the charter fishing boat, officials said. The Mexican Navy also deployed two boats to assist. The nearest Mexican Navy port is at Ensenada, about 45 miles further southeast.
The crew aboard Time Machine pulled 15 people from the water, including two who needed urgent medical attention, according to the Coast Guard. The survivors reported three people were still missing.
Two victims needed urgent medical care and were taken by helicopter to San Diego, where they were met by emergency medical services personnel and taken to UC San Diego Health. The remaining 13 survivors were taken by boat to Ensenada.
A Coast Guard Air Station San Francisco Forward Operating Base Point Mugu MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew and the Coast Guard Cutter Haddock crew are actively searching for the three additional people. Navy helicopter crews from the USS John C. Stennis and the USS Stockdale are assisting in the search.