A boat smuggling Haitian migrants has sunk off the Bahamas, leaving at least 28 dead and 17 others are in police custody, officials said on Sunday.
Chief Petty Officer Jonathan Rolle of the Royal Bahamas Defense Force said that residents of the island of Abaco had found four bodies and at least 15 survivors off the Bahamian coast on Saturday, The Associated Press reported. Mr. Rolle said the ship appeared to be an American vessel engaged in people-smuggling.
By Sunday afternoon, local forces and the United States Coast Guard had found 28 bodies in and around a sunken ship, The A.P. said. The number of total rescued had risen to 17. The boat’s final destination was unclear.
The American Embassy in Haiti described the accident in a tweet early on Monday morning as “another tragic loss of life” and said the vessel had been “trafficking people out of Haiti.”
“No journey is worth risking lives,” the embassy said.
The Bahamian authorities have apprehended about 300 Haitians for illegal entry this year, the Royal Bahamas Defense Force said in a statement on Saturday.
In 2013, at least 30 Haitians who tried to sail to the United States were found drowned after their overloaded boat ran aground off the Bahamas and capsized. Fishermen had tipped off the local authorities about the 40-foot vessel days earlier, but the military was unable to conduct air searches because all three of its planes were out of service.
Once the Coast Guard eventually deployed a helicopter, it found the boat in about an hour, about 20 miles from where the fishermen had first reported seeing it.
At least 28 Haitians have drowned off the coast of Abaco in the Bahamas, officials said Sunday, the latest tragedy at sea for migrants seeking to leave the Caribbean’s poorest economy.
“Thus far, a total of 17 persons have been rescued alive and 28 bodies have been recovered from the water” after two days of dive operations, the Royal Bahamas Defence Force said.
The incident unfolded Saturday when the ship carrying the Haitians sank near Fowl Cay, six miles (10 kilometers) off the coast of Marsh Harbour, Abaco. Fifteen survivors and 13 dead bodies were recovered Saturday in a joint mission between the RBDF and US Coast Guard. On Sunday, two more survivors were found alive on a nearby cay in addition to 15 bodies in the sunken vessel.
as a vessel trafficking people out of Haiti, adding: “No journey is worth risking lives - please urge families and communities: Illegal migrant & smuggling operations are dangerous and frequently end in tragedy.”
The RBDF added that this year alone, some 300 Haitians had been apprehended by for illegal entry during four separate incidents.
In a country where more than 60 percent of the population lives on less than two dollars a day, there are frequent attempts to reach the Bahamas or Turks and Caicos illegally.
In recent years, thousands of young Haitians have migrated to Chile or Brazil, countries where visas are more easily obtained.
Although Haitians historically have gone to the United States, and to Florida in particular, the flow of migrants has shifted to Canada and other neighboring countries.
Since a devastating earthquake in 2010, about 60,000 Haitians have found temporary protected status in the United States.
US President Donald Trump’s administration announced in 2017 it was terminating the program but the decision has been challenged in several court cases.
Sunday, the latest tragedy at sea for migrants seeking to leave the Caribbean’s poorest economy.
“Thus far, a total of 17 persons have been rescued alive and 28 bodies have been recovered from the water” after two days of dive operations, the Royal Bahamas Defence Force said.
The incident unfolded Saturday when the ship carrying the Haitians sank near Fowl Cay, six miles (10 kilometers) off the coast of Marsh Harbour, Abaco. Fifteen survivors and 13 dead bodies were recovered Saturday in a joint mission between the RBDF and US Coast Guard. On Sunday, two more survivors were found alive on a nearby cay in addition to 15 bodies in the sunken vessel.
The RBDF added that this year alone, some 300 Haitians had been apprehended by for illegal entry during four separate incidents.
In a country where more than 60 percent of the population lives on less than two dollars a day, there are frequent attempts to reach the Bahamas or Turks and Caicos illegally.
In recent years, thousands of young Haitians have migrated to Chile or Brazil, countries where visas are more easily obtained.
Although Haitians historically have gone to the United States, and to Florida in particular, the flow of migrants has shifted to Canada and other neighboring countries.
Since a devastating earthquake in 2010, about 60,000 Haitians have found temporary protected status in the United States.
US President Donald Trump’s administration announced in 2017 it was terminating the program but the decision has been challenged in several court cases.
