Survivors of a capsized migrant boat aboard the capsized ship off New Providence Island, Bahamas.
Royal Bahamas Defense Force / Reuters
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Royal Bahamas Defense Force / Reuters
Survivors of a capsized migrant boat aboard the capsized ship off New Providence Island, Bahamas.
Royal Bahamas Defense Force / Reuters
At least 17 people have died after a boat capsized shortly after midnight Sunday in the Bahamas. Authorities said the boat was capable of transporting Haitian migrants in a suspected human-smuggling operation to the United States.
An investigation into the incident is still underway, but authorities said at a news conference that between 50 and 60 people were on board the boat when it capsized about 7 miles off the coast of New Providence Island.
Officials recovered the bodies of 16 women, including a child believed to be 4 or 5 years old and a male. Authorities said they were able to rescue 25 people from the water. Between eight and 12 people are believed to be missing.
The three rescued people are still being treated at a local hospital after the near-drowning incident, according to Bahamian Acting Health Secretary Ryan Pinder, who also serves as attorney general.
Bahamas Prime Minister Phillip Davis told reporters that a preliminary investigation found that two Bahamas nationals attempted to bring Haitian refugees into Miami, Fla.
“What happened this morning was not an entry into the Bahamas, but an exit from the Bahamas, with migrants already here,” Davis said. “How they got here, we’re not sure, as the investigation is still ongoing.”
Two Bahamian nationals involved in the incident are in custody, officials said.
Members of the Royal Bahamas Police and the Royal Bahamas Defense Force responded to reports of a ship capsizing shortly after 1 a.m. Sunday, Deputy Commander Shonedel Pinder said the vessel was capable of capsizing. potential to face “terrible weather conditions.”
Pinder told reporters that defense surveillance and patrol efforts have increased in recent months. As a result, there hasn’t been a single successful illegal landing in the Bahamas for several months, he said, which would make it impossible for people smugglers to engage in future operations.
Immigration officers and the Royal Bahamas police arrested five Haitian nationals last week in response to reports of an illegal landing on a beach west of Nassau. According to an immigration bureau New information postedindividuals who have engaged in a human trafficking operation.
The Bahamas Immigration Department has blocked at least 830 Haitian migrants since the beginning of the year, according to the numbers recorded in the news available since January. The perilous journeys became more frequent as Haitians fled ongoing political turmoil, gang violence and poverty at home.
Bahamas Immigration and Labor Minister Keith Bell urged residents to prevent others from attempting to make the journey in response to the recent tragedy at sea.
“We mourn the lost lives of those searching for a better way of life” Bell told Reuters. “Those here with family and friends in Haiti, please encourage your loved ones not to risk their lives.”
Despite the rise of ships carrying migrants in recent months, Davis said, the Bahamas is almost always not their final destination. More often than not, he said, the islands are the hub for people fleeing Haiti to reach the United States.
Just last month, the US Coast Guard rescued nearly 100 Haitian men, women and children from a lifeless stranded ship off the coast of Florida. The ship was found about 40 miles southeast of Islamorada in the Florida Keys, a coast guard New information posted speak. More than 6,000 Haitian migrants were intercepted by the coast guard between October 2021 and June 2022.
