U.S. and Mexican rescuers are still searching for survivors off the coast of Baja California after a long-range fishing boat carrying 44 people capsized near San Felipe Sunday.
Current Coast Guard estimates put the number still missing at eight persons. According to reports, an number of survivors swam for miles to reach safety.
The boat that capsized was The Erik, a 105-foot mothership that runs multi-day liveaboard trips in the Baja area.
“We saw it on the news, just like everybody else,” said David Myers, owner of the Jig Stop tackle shop in Dana Point, California, which had served as a booking agent for charter trips aboard The Erik. “We didn’t happen to have anybody who we had booked as passengers on this particular trip.”
“We have tried to reach the operator of the vessel, Gustavo Velez of Baja Sportfishing, Inc., but have not talked to him since the incident,” said Myers.
Our calls to the Baja Sportfishing office in San Diego, California, went unanswered as 10:30 a.m. PDT today. A message of the homepage of the Baja Sportfishing website reads, “Due to events occurring at this time, all further trips are cancelled.”
