Dozens Feared Drowned as Boats Capsize

Up to 50 people were feared drowned after two boats capsized off the Pacific coast of southern Mexico, officials said Saturday as a newspaper reported that the victims might have been Central Americans hoping to enter Mexico illegally.

Searchers in helicopters and navy boats combed the waters after local fishermen reported that two boats had overturned.

A naval official, who identified himself only as Seaman Espinosa, said helicopters had spotted some bodies floating in the area. He did not say how many bodies there were.

But naval boats later searched the area and found nothing, said another official, identified only as Lt. Tello.

An official at Mexico’s National Immigration Institute, which was coordinating regional search efforts, said a navy patrol reported finding two wrecked boats Friday near the coastal town of Ixhuatan in southeastern Oaxaca state about 370 miles southeast of Mexico City.

“They found two small boats, each with room for 25 passengers and crew, but the number or nationality of the dead is unknown,” said the official, who declined to be identified.

The official said the search for the missing people had been called off late Friday because of bad weather.

Reforma newspaper, quoting state police, said the undocumented Central Americans were hoping to evade Mexican immigration controls by heading out to sea when the accident occurred.

But state police and the immigration official could not confirm the report.