A boat carrying 207 migrants, mostly Haitian, was returned to Cap-Haitian on Friday after being intercepted 32 kilometers south of the Turks-and-Caicos Islands.
The Turks and Caicos Coast Guard thanked the U.S. Coast Guard in a statement for its support in returning the migrants after detecting “the extremely overloaded vessel.”
“We urge families in the U.S. to ask their loved ones not to risk their lives on this dangerous journey,” said Coast Guard Commander Anne O’Connell Campbell.
O’Connell added that “these voyages are extremely dangerous and often involve rudimentary boats that are overloaded and lack food, water and basic safety equipment.”
The coast guard had to deploy a small boat with life jackets to hand over to the migrants for fear of the boat sinking.
Since October 1, 2021, the U.S. Coast Guard has intercepted 4,449 Haitian migrants, up from 1,527 the previous year.
The migrants traveling on a boat that sank Thursday west of Puerto Rico were also mostly Haitian nationals.
Prime Minister Ariel Henry, reported on Friday that the 11 migrants who died in the shipwreck, which occurred north of the Puerto Rican islet of Desecheo, were Haitians.
The U.S. Coast Guard has so far managed to rescue 38 survivors of the shipwreck, including 36 Haitians and two Dominicans, eight of whom have been hospitalized.
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