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Mexican navy: US man dies in Baja boat accident

05 July 2011 00:16 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. American tourists on an annual July 4 fishing trip were plunged into the Gulf of California in the middle of the night after a flash storm upended their boat, killing one U.S. man and leaving seven others missing, APA reports quoting news.yahoo.com website.

The 27 tourists and 16 crew members clung to coolers, rescue rings and life vests for nearly 10 hours before three of them were rescued by another fishing boat as they tried to swim to shore. One of those rescued, a cook from the sunken boat, notified the Mexican navy when he reached the port San Felipe in Baja California, Mexican navy Capt. Benjamin Pineda Gomez said Monday.

Pineda had no name or details about the man who died, but said the others were all men, most from Northern California. By Monday afternoon rescuers had recovered all of the crew.

"I’m relieved I’m alive, but I’m scared for the people who haven’t been found yet," said tourist Michael Ng of Belmont, California, one of the three rescued.

But he said that he still has hope for the others more than 36 hours after the accident occurred at about 2:30 a.m. PDT (5:30 a.m. EDT; 0930 GMT) Sunday 60 miles (100 kilometers) south of San Felipe.

"We were not very far from shore, so people were beached or stranded on some local islands," Ng said.

Pineda said the tourists left Saturday afternoon for a seven-day trip, an Independence Day holiday tradition for many of them that started several years ago aboard the same boat, the Erik. The 115-foot (35-meter) vessel sank completely after being hit by a quick storm that Ng said "came and went."

The boat was less than 2 miles (3 kilometers) from shore when it capsized. Pineda said two giant waves hit the boat, causing it to tip over.

Jan Ciabattari of Novato, California, said her husband, Richard, 62, managed to don a life vest before going into the water, but that he spent 15 hours in the ocean before he was rescued.

She spoke to him briefly by telephone and said he mentioned something about an electrical storm. He was invited on the annual trip at the last minute when someone else canceled, and he drove to San Felipe about 220 miles (354 kilometers) south of the border city of Tijuana across from San Diego.

"They lost everything," she said, including car keys. "He’s pretty shaken up."

As the day wore on Monday, rescuers failed to find more victims. But Pineda said the navy would continue searching the area with two helicopters, an airplane and 50 personnel. The U.S. Coast Guard was also assisting with a helicopter, Pineda said.

Those rescued were in good condition with a few scrapes. Photos released by the Mexican navy showed several sunburned fishermen in T-shirts and Bermudas waiting to get on a bus.

They were taken to a clinic for checkups, then to their hotel, Pineda said. One diabetic survivor was taken to a naval hospital in San Felipe, said civil protection director Alfredo Escobedo Ortiz.

Coast Guard spokeswoman Pamela J. Boehland told The Associated Press that possibly at least one person aboard the boat was from Port Angeles, Washington.

According to the Baja Sportsfishing Inc. website, the Erik has been on the Gulf of California, known in Mexico as the Sea of Cortez, since 1989. It was built in Holland and was equipped with stabilizers to handle the turbulent North Sea.

"We have been working with Mexican Navy authorities and the U.S. Coast Guard in the search and rescue," Baja Sportsfishing Inc. said in a brief statement e-mailed to The Associated Press. "Right now our main concern is making sure that everyone is accounted for."

The company didn’t respond to an interview request.