Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, July 30, 2026 — A nine-year-old boy and a 57-year-old man were hospitalized Wednesday after being struck by a boat propeller at Mismaloya Beach, the second severe passenger-boat accident reported along Puerto Vallarta’s coast in less than two weeks.
Puerto Vallarta Civil Protection paramedics found the child with a wound measuring approximately 15 centimeters along the left side of his torso, below the ribs and extending toward his lower back. The propeller cut through fatty tissue and muscle, although responders reported no active bleeding or exposed internal organs.
The boy was alert and oriented, with stable vital signs, while receiving treatment on the beach.
The 57-year-old man sustained a cut measuring approximately 25 centimeters below his right kneecap. That wound was actively bleeding when paramedics arrived.
Both patients received first aid on the sand before being taken to a private hospital in Puerto Vallarta. Authorities have not released their names.
The Jalisco State Prosecutor’s Office opened an investigation into how the boat struck the two victims and whether the operator bears legal responsibility.
Mismaloya’s narrow beachfront is used by swimmers alongside small boats that load and unload passengers directly from the shore. The beach is also a departure point on trips toward Los Arcos and communities farther south along Banderas Bay.
Wednesday’s accident was separate from the July 18 capsizing near Los Tules and Playa Holi in Puerto Vallarta’s North Hotel Zone. In that case, a tourist boat overturned while approaching shore, trapping a Guadalajara woman beneath the vessel. She later died from her injuries.
Her family subsequently sought help locating the boat operator as prosecutors examined the circumstances surrounding the capsizing. PVDN reported on that investigation on July 21.
The two accidents occurred at different beaches and involved different circumstances. The Los Tules boat overturned during an attempted landing in surf, while the Mismaloya case involved direct contact with a propeller. Both, however, happened in near-shore areas where passenger boats and people in the water can come into close proximity.
