The US Coast Guard has begun a search for 39 people missing after a boat capsized off the coast of Florida in a “suspected human trafficking enterprise”. A man “clung to a capsized vessel about 45 miles east of Fort Pierce Inlet.”
The survivor said the boat had set off from Bimini in the Bahamas on Saturday night, and suffered inclement weather before sinking. “According to the survivor, no one was wearing a life jacket. Coast Guard Air and Surface Assets teams are actively searching for people in the water. This is a suspected human trafficking enterprise,” the statement said. Twitter.
It was later added that air and surface teams “will continue to search throughout the night” for the missing. An image released by the Coast Guard shows a man with a shipwreck in the water.
The Coast Guard said the survivor was taken to hospital for treatment for dehydration and sun exposure. Human traffickers have been known to use the Bahamas—a group of islands off the Florida coast—as a jumping-off point to transport people, from several other Caribbean countries, such as Haiti, to the United States.
According to the International Organization for Migration, approximately 5,000 Haitian migrants work in the Bahamas legally, but between 20,000 and 50,000 of their compatriots are in the country illegally. Bimini, the westernmost district of the Bahamas and the closest point to the mainland, is approximately 130 miles (217 kilometers) from Fort Pierce Inlet. On Friday, 32 people were rescued after a boat capsized in another suspected human trafficking attempt about five miles west of Bimini, according to the US Coast Guard and the Royal Bahamas Defense Force.
The US Coast Guard tweeted that its ships patrol the waters around Haiti, Puerto Rico and the Bahamas “to ensure the safety of life at sea”.
It warned, “Navigating the sea in overloaded and less than seaworthy vessels is extremely dangerous and can result in loss of life and property.”
The region has been in turmoil with spikes in the number of people trying to reach the United States from the Caribbean. US officials have observed an increase in sea migration from Cuba in recent months. In July, economic strife, medical and food shortages, and anger at the government led to several demonstrations in the country.
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