15 Rescued, 3 Missing after Fishing Boat Fire

Good Samaritans aboard the charter fishing vessel Time Machine and Coast Guard officials rescued 15 people on Saturday, October 20th after a fishing boat caught fire approximately 28 miles south of Point Loma.

Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector San Diego’s Joint Harbor Operations Center were contacted at about 9:35pm after Time Machine crewmembers saw a nearby fishing boat burning and several people in the water.

The Coast Guard Station San Diego launched a 45-foot Response Boat-Medium crew and diverted the Coast Guard Cutter Haddock to the scene. A Sector San Diego MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew was also dispatched and Secretaría de Marina (SEMAR) deployed two defender class boats to assist.

Crewmembers pulled 15 people from the water, but survivors reported that 3 people were unaccounted for. Two of the rescued individuals required urgent medical attention and were transported via helicopter to Sector San Diego, where they were met by emergency medical personnel and taken to UC San Diego Health.

The 13 remaining people were taken to Ensenada, Mexico by a SEMAR vessel. The SEMAR Rescue Coordination Center has taken over the search for the 3 missing crewmembers. A Coast Guard Air Station San Francisco Forward Operating Base Point Mugu MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew and the Coast Guard Cutter Haddock crew continued to search for the missing fishermen.