The Sinaloa Attorney General's Office said the boat had set out from southern Mexico, near the border with Guatemala, with 27 passengers aged 14 to 17, and an 18-year-old.

Their nationalities were not stated.

The border between Mexico and Guatemala is a key crossing point in the migrant route north from South and Central America to the United States.

The attorney general's office said the teenagers had been handed over to the Mexican child welfare system "to provide them with comprehensive care and protection while their legal situation is determined."

It added no one had been arrested but did not say where the youngsters were headed, or why they were on the boat.