Search continues after boat capsizes near Puerto Rico’s Mona Island
A search for possible survivors continued after a makeshift boat capsized near Mona Island, west of Puerto Rico. In its latest publicly described update on Monday, September 28, the U.S. Coast Guard said at least 40 people had been rescued and two had been found dead. Survivors estimated that about 60 people were aboard, but authorities had not established a confirmed passenger count or a precise number still missing.
The boat reportedly overturned at about 11 p.m. Sunday, September 27, roughly 10 miles from Mona Island. The first alert reached Coast Guard watchstanders in San Juan around noon Monday, when the crew of the passing motor vessel Tripiti reported finding people in the water. Its crew pulled four people to safety and notified authorities, setting a wider rescue effort in motion.
Rescue teams search by sea and air
Coast Guard crews and partner agencies searched the waters around the island for others who might have been aboard. The response included the Coast Guard cutter Joseph Doyle, Coast Guard aircraft, Puerto Rico Police marine and air units, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection crews. The Dominican Republic Air Force and Puerto Rico environmental rangers were also among the units identified as participating in the search.
The four people rescued by Tripiti were part of the response that ultimately brought at least 40 people to safety; they should not be added to that total. Authorities had not released a full account of where each survivor was found or the condition of everyone rescued. The Coast Guard’s Monday update said rescue efforts were still underway.
The gap between the survivors’ estimate of about 60 people aboard and the number accounted for raises concern that others could remain at sea. It does not, however, establish an exact missing-person figure. An estimate given after a chaotic emergency may change as crews locate more people and reconcile accounts from survivors. The Coast Guard had not confirmed how many people were on the boat when it overturned.
What authorities know about the capsizing
The Coast Guard said survivors reported a fight aboard the vessel before it capsized. According to those accounts, people were seriously injured with a machete, and others entered the water and tried to swim toward Mona Island. Those details describe what survivors told authorities; the circumstances of the fight and the sequence that led to the capsizing had not been independently established.
The Coast Guard also said no one aboard was wearing a life jacket. Authorities had not identified the people on the boat or confirmed their nationalities. Mona Island lies in the Mona Passage between Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, where a person in the water can be difficult to locate across a broad search area. The first reported rescue came around 13 hours after the boat was said to have overturned.
Safety advice and information for mariners
The Coast Guard asked mariners to stay clear of the active search area so rescue crews could work without interference. Anyone with information that could help locate people from the boat was asked to contact the Coast Guard Sector San Juan Command Center at 787-289-2041. The request is for useful information, not for members of the public to enter the search zone.
For boaters more generally, Coast Guard safety guidance recommends wearing a properly fitted life jacket while underway, keeping a means of emergency communication aboard and leaving a float plan with someone ashore. Its guidance notes that a wearable life jacket helps a person remain afloat if injury or exhaustion makes swimming difficult. A marine VHF radio is particularly important because a phone-based boating app is not a substitute for one.
The confirmed rescue and death totals reflect the Coast Guard’s September 28 report, not a final accounting. Until authorities establish how many people set out and complete their search, both the number still missing and the circumstances of the capsizing remain subject to change.
