Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, July 21, 2026 – A 60-year-old woman from Guadalajara died after being trapped beneath a small tourist boat that overturned while approaching the beach near Los Tules in Puerto Vallarta’s Hotel Zone.
The boat capsized at about 6:30 p.m. Saturday, July 18, as it attempted to put passengers ashore near the Holiday Inn, between Playa Los Tules and Playa Holi. Municipal emergency reports said a wave struck the vessel during the maneuver and threw its occupants into the water.
Guardavidas entered the water and began bringing passengers to shore. When the group reported that one woman was still missing, a rescuer made repeated dives beneath the overturned boat and found her trapped below the hull.
The woman, identified in local reports as María del Socorro Rodríguez, was unconscious when she reached the beach. Puerto Vallarta Civil Protection personnel, hotel medical staff and paramedics performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation before transporting her to a private hospital.
She was later transferred to the IMSS General Hospital Zone 42, where her death was confirmed Sunday. Medical information listed drowning as the cause of death.
Fuel leaking from the overturned vessel complicated the rescue. Several people were exposed to gasoline in the water, and one rescuer received hospital treatment after swallowing contaminated seawater during the search beneath the boat.
The Jalisco Public Prosecutor’s Office was notified, and a case file was opened to establish how the boat overturned and whether criminal responsibility may be involved. No public update had identified the operator or explained whether the vessel had been secured as of Tuesday.
Rodríguez’s relatives have appealed through social media seeking information about the boat operator. They alleged that he acted recklessly during the trip, had consumed alcohol and left after the capsizing. Those accusations have not been confirmed by investigators or maritime officials.
The investigation involves more than the final maneuver near shore. Authorities will need to establish who owned the boat, whether the operator held the required credentials, how many passengers were aboard, whether everyone had a life jacket and whether the vessel was authorized to provide paid passenger service.
Mexico’s maritime authority places those issues within the jurisdiction of the local port captain. The Puerto Captain’s Office may inspect vessels, verify certificates, authorize nautical tourism and passenger transportation services and assist prosecutors.
Port captain offices also investigate accidents within their jurisdiction. The federal maritime authority may conduct a separate safety review and issue recommendations based on the findings, as described in the government’s maritime accident investigation procedures.
Federal safety rules covering passenger boats measuring up to 15 meters require a safety briefing before departure, life jackets throughout the trip, proper distribution of passengers and cargo, and prudent speed without abrupt maneuvers that could throw people into the water. The rules also place responsibility on the boat’s captain, owner or operator to plan the trip around weather and sea conditions.
Those requirements appear in the NOM-034-SEMAR-2024 maritime safety standard. Officials have not publicly stated whether the vessel involved Saturday met those conditions.
The death adds another fatal accident involving recreational activity on the bay this year. A 28-year-old man died in April after a jet ski and boat collided off Puerto Vallarta. Another tourist died in March during an airborne parachute activity near the Hotel Zone.