US Coast Guard swimmer rescues 16 in 8-foot waves; 11 remain missing

A 24-year-old US Coast Guard rescue swimmer spent two hours battling rough seas in near-total darkness to save 16 people after a boat capsized in the Pacific Ocean off Mexico’s Baja California peninsula. Eleven others remain missing after an extensive search was called off.Josh Law was lowered from a Coast Guard helicopter into the ocean during the early hours of October 16, with waves reaching 6 to 8 feet (1.8 to 2.4 metres). Guided by a searchlight from the aircraft, he searched the water for survivors scattered across the area.“I was experiencing exhaustion at that point,” Law told The Associated Press in his first interview since the operation. “We had very little sleep. But what I was experiencing was nothing compared to what they were at that point ... I just had to keep that in mind.”The rescue unfolded about 140 miles (225 kilometres) off Mexico’s coast.