Suspected attempt to smuggle people

Events and photos.. 39 people were missing after their boat capsized off Florida

  • The only man who survived the drowning accident.

    Reuters

  • The US Coast Guard boat, which set out in search of survivors of the sinking boat accident.

    dad

  • A primitive boat used by immigrants who made it to shore via Florida.

    Source: US Coast Guard

  • Accidents of drowning immigrants trying to pass through the beaches of Florida are frequent.

    Source: US Coast Guard

picture

Rescue teams conducted searches off the coast of Florida on the Atlantic Ocean, the day before yesterday, in search of 39 people, who a survivor said were on board a boat that capsized in an accident described by the US Coast Guard as a suspected attempt to smuggle people.

The coast guard said in a statement on Twitter that the lone survivor, who was found clinging to the capsized boat, told authorities that he left the Bimini Islands of the Bahamas, about 80 kilometers east of Miami, on a boat with 39 people on Saturday evening.

Quoting the survivor, the Coast Guard reported that the boat capsized in severe weather about 72.4 km east of Fort Pierce Bay, off the Atlantic coast of Florida halfway between Miami and Cape Canaveral, and no one was wearing a life jacket.

A person found the surviving man sitting on the boat after it capsized on Tuesday morning to rescue him before he reported the accident to the Coast Guard, which sent boats and planes to search the area.

"This is a suspected attempt to smuggle people," the Coast Guard said in the statement.

Coast Guard spokesman Jose Hernandez said the nationalities of those on board had not yet been determined.

In another attempt to cross the migrants, Hernandez added, 32 people were rescued after a boat capsized last Friday west of Bimini, which has become a frequent crossing point for smugglers across the sea.

Accidents that capsize or overcrowded boats are not uncommon in the waters off Florida.

Many of these come from Haiti or Cuba and seek to reach the United States.

In May 2021, 12 Cuban migrants were killed, and eight others were rescued, after their boat capsized off Key West, Florida.

According to the Coast Guard, at least 557 Cuban migrants have been picked up at sea since the start of the current fiscal year in October, in addition to nearly 7,400 Cubans whose boats have been intercepted over the past five years.

Last week, 90 people were repatriated to the Dominican Republic, which shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti, after three illegal voyages were rescued and intercepted through the Mona Sea Pass near Puerto Rico.

• The only survivor who was found clinging to the capsized boat, told the authorities that he left the Bimini Islands of the Bahamas, about 80 kilometers east of Miami, on a boat with 39 people on Saturday evening.

Follow our latest local and sports news and the latest political and economic developments via Google news