Migrant boat capsizes, 20 dead
2008-04-21 18:54
Nassau, Bahamas - The bodies of 20 migrants have been recovered from the sea near the Bahamas after their boat capsized, the US Coast Guard said on Monday as it searched for survivors.
The bodies of 19 Haitians and one Honduran were recovered and three survivors - two Haitians and one Honduran - have been found, said Barry Bena, a Coast Guard spokesperson in Miami.
The survivors said their boat was carrying 24 people when it capsized around 22:00 on Saturday, according to another Coast Guard spokesperson, Luis Diaz.
The search-and-rescue mission began on Sunday after fishermen heard people screaming in the water before dawn.
Vessels continued searching the area
The accident happened about 25km northwest of Nassau, Bahamas, according to the Coast Guard. A cutter, helicopter and a jet from the Coast Guard and two Bahamas military vessels continued searching the area on Monday.
Diaz said the Bahamian government was holding the survivors.
Every year, thousands of Haitians try to leave the Western Hemisphere's poorest country aboard rickety, overloaded boats for other islands or the US.
Soaring food prices have pushed many into abject poverty and triggered riots earlier this month in Haiti, but this has not translated so far into a spike in the number of migrants.
Last year a migrant boat capsized near the Turks and Caicos islands, pitching Haitians into shark-infested waters. At least 61 people died.
- AP