Coast Guard rescues 37 suspected migrants stranded for 2 days off California coast
The U.S. Coast Guard rescued 37 suspected migrants from a disabled 30-foot pleasure craft roughly 88 miles off the Southern California coast on Friday evening, after the operator radioed for help, saying the vessel had been drifting without fuel, food or water for two days.
The distress call came in around 3:40 p.m., according to the Coast Guard. The operator reported that the boat was adrift, had no personal safety equipment aboard, and that the people on board had been without supplies since setting out. The vessel was located approximately 88 miles from Channel Islands Harbor.
Multiple Coast Guard units responded, including the cutters Sockeye and Halibut, boats from stations in Los Angeles-Long Beach and Channel Islands, and an air crew. They reached the disabled craft around 8:30 p.m. and transferred all 37 people onto the Sockeye.
The rescue was carried out at night in rough conditions far from shore, according to Master Chief Peter Nelson, the Sockeye's officer in charge.
"Despite operating far offshore in rough conditions at night, they persevered until every person in danger was rescued," Nelson said. "Their extraordinary professionalism, superb judgment, and impeccable seamanship shined throughout the entire case."
In a separate statement, Nelson praised the crews more directly for the outcome.
"I could not be prouder of the Coast Guard crews on scene who were directly responsible for 37 lives saved last night," he said.
The Sockeye transported the group to Coast Guard Base Los Angeles-Long Beach, where they were turned over to U.S. Border Patrol. The Coast Guard did not immediately release information about where the group was from, where the boat began its journey or where it was headed.
The incident comes amid a broader pattern of crowded, ill-equipped migrant vessels turning up in coastal waters in recent years. Earlier this month, for instance, a separate boat carrying around 240 people was intercepted near Turks and Caicos. The Southern California case, while smaller, underscored the same risks: long distances from shore, limited supplies and an absence of basic safety gear.
Coast Guard officials have repeatedly warned that vessels of this type are rarely suited for open-water travel, and that passengers are frequently exposed to dehydration, exposure and the danger of capsizing before help can arrive. Friday's rescue, they noted, unfolded after the boat had already spent two days adrift, leaving little margin for further delay.