The U.S. Coast Guard is searching for 39 people after their boat reportedly capsized during a suspected human smuggling venture off the coast of Florida, USCG said.
Coast Guard Sector Miami received a report from a good Samaritan Tuesday morning who rescued a man clinging to a capsized vessel some 45 miles east of Florida’s Fort Pierce Inlet, USCG Southeast said.
USCG rescued a man on a capsized vessel. (U.S. Embassy Nassau)
The survivor said he had left the island of Bimini in the Bahamas with 39 other people Saturday evening. He said the group encountered severe weather, causing the vessel to capsize, according to USCG Southeast.
The survivor told the Coast Guard that no one was wearing a life jacket. USCG said they suspect it is a human smuggling venture.
US COAST GUARD RESCUES HAITIANS FROM UNSEAWORTHY SAILBOAT OFF COAST OF FLORIDA
Officials said on Twitter that they are searching by both air and sea over a roughly 135-mile area extending from Bimini to the Fort Pierce Inlet.
The agency patrols the waters around Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Cuba and the Bahamas, along routes that migrants often use to try to reach the U.S. The agency stops and repatriates foreigners found navigating in U.S. waters.
The U.S. Coast Guard ship Bernard C. Webber, leaves the coast guard base, Monday, July 19, 2021, in Miami Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)
On Friday, the Coast Guard found 88 Haitians in an overloaded sail freighter west of Great Inagua, Bahamas.
"Navigating the Florida straits, Windward and Mona Passages ... is extremely dangerous and can result in loss of life," the Coast Guard said in a statement last weekend.
U.S. Coast Guard vessel. (iStock)
Last July, the Coast Guard rescued 13 people after their boat capsized off of Key West as Tropical Storm Elsa approached.
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The survivors said they had left Cuba with 22 people aboard. Nine went missing in the water.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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