Search for 70 Missing Haitian Migrants Continues

by Alyzee | July 29, 2009 at 10:40 am

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A wooden handmade sailboat carrying about 200 Haitian migrants broke apart on a sharp reef earlier in the week and sank off the coast of the Turks and Caicos Islands.

Passengers included men, women and teenagers trying to escape the extreme poverty in Haiti. Over 100 people were rescued and 15 bodies have been found. The U.S Coast Guard, which patrols the area for drug traffickers and illegal migrants is helping the local marine police continue to search for the 70 remaining passengers.

Authorities say the outlook for more survivors isn't bright. They say anyone still in the water would be struggling with 23 mph winds and six-foot waves.

The sailboat, crowded with about 200 men, women and teenagers fleeing Haiti's deep poverty, broke up as it tried to maneuver through treacherous coral reefs and was struck by heavy swells near West Caicos.

Although dangerous, fleeing Haiti by boat seems to be a common choice. A similar incident occurred in 2007 when nearly 100 Haitians died also off the coast of Turks and Caicos whilst risking a similar journey - some were eaten by sharks. While efforts are being made to save the migrants lives, authorities are also making sure to return them to Haiti.

Turks and Caicos officials were moving quickly to send the ill-fated migrants back to impoverished Haiti, saying 60 were flown home Tuesday. Fifty-eight more spent Tuesday night under blankets on cots in a gym, and an unspecified number were at another detention site or in the hospital. The bodies of the unlucky 15 lay in a makeshift morgue.

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