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Eleven missing in Mexico after tourist boat sinks

Other News Materials 5 July 2011 02:11 (UTC +04:00)
Eleven people were missing in the Californian Gulf, in northwestern Mexico, after the tourist boat they were travelling in sank, civil protection authorities said Monday
Eleven missing in Mexico after tourist boat sinks

Eleven people were missing in the Californian Gulf, in northwestern Mexico, after the tourist boat they were travelling in sank, civil protection authorities said Monday, dpa reported.

The boat Erik, some 30 metres long and regularly used for recreational fishing, was carrying 27 tourists - mostly US citizens - and a crew of 17. It had left the port of San Felipe, near the US border, Saturday, for a trip that was set to last a couple of days.

The shipwreck happened in the early hours of Sunday, some 100 kilometres off San Felipe, in Baja California, civil protection chief Alfredo Escobedo told the German Press Agency dpa.

One body was found in the area, although the authorities had yet to establish whether he had been travelling on board the ship.

The accident apparently happened during a storm with strong winds that pushed the boat against a reef barrier and caused it to sink, Escobedo said.

The Mexican Navy was searching for survivors, with support from two police helicopters. The US Coast Guard was also expected to take part in rescue operations.

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