Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, August 18, 2026 – A Navy search-and-rescue team ran a sea-to-shore drill off Los Muertos Beach Tuesday morning, marking the second publicly documented exercise in the same beach corridor this summer and repeating the response used during a real swimmer rescue there last month.
The simulation began at 11:20 a.m. in waters between Los Muertos and Olas Altas. ENSAR Vallarta personnel led the exercise under Lieutenant Aldo René Baños Reyes, the station’s second in command. A Defender vessel carried the naval team offshore while sailors practiced locating, reaching, and extracting a person presented as being in distress.
Naval personnel stationed on land received the simulated casualty, and staff from the Naval Hospital in Vallarta conducted the medical assessment. Together, the teams tested the full handoff from the initial response and vessel deployment through recovery, landing and medical evaluation.
Tuesday’s exercise differed from the Navy drill staged in the same area on July 9. That earlier scenario involved a capsized vessel and two occupants, with a Navy boat crew recovering one person from the hull while beach lifeguards assisted another person being carried toward shore. The new drill centered on a single person in the water and a direct recovery followed by a medical check.
That handoff was used during an actual Los Muertos emergency on July 26. As PVDN reported after the rescue, strong surf pulled a woman away from the beach before Navy rescue swimmers brought her ashore. Naval medical personnel treated minor scrapes, and she left with relatives after the examination.
ENSAR Vallarta is part of a Navy network of 34 maritime rescue and surveillance stations operating through 38 naval commands. The local drills fall within Operation Salvavidas Summer 2026, which began June 30 and continues through August 30.
Sea emergencies can be reported through 911 or directly to the 12th Naval Zone at 322 216 6618. The Navy also maintains the national emergency line 800 MARINA 1 at 800 627 4621.
