A boat capsized in Bahamian waters in Sunday’s first hours, reportedly killing 16 Haitian migrants.
A Royal Bahamas Defense Force petty officer reached by the Miami Herald would confirm only the capsizing near New Providence and an “ongoing investigation,” and directed all inquiries about migrant deaths to the the agency’s public relations office.
But the Nassau Guardian as well as Eyewitness News Bahamas reported that Minister of Immigration Keith Bell confirmed at least 21 people have been rescued and 16 people died, all of whom were Haitian nationals.
The tragedy occurred around 1:30 a.m. Sunday.
Boats teeming with people, such as the one with over 150 migrants stopped off Boca Chita Key on Thursday, carry deadly danger along with the hopes of people trying to leave Haiti’s political and economic upheaval behind. The U.S. Coast Guard said it’s intercepted and returned more than 6,100 Haitians at sea since October, the largest attempted migration of Haitian boat refugees in 20 years.
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