MIAMI (Reuters) – The U.S. Coast Guard said on Monday it had called off the search for survivors from last week’s capsizing of a vessel carrying Haitian migrants that left at least 11 dead.
The vessel was spotted on Thursday north of Desecheo Island, Puerto Rico, carrying an “undetermined” number of people. The Coast Guard rescued 38, two of them citizens of the Dominican Republic.
“Our most heartfelt condolences to the families, friends and loved ones of those who did not survive or remain missing, our prayers are with them,” Capt. Gregory H. Magee, Commander of Coast Guard Sector San Juan, said in a statement.
Migrants, particularly from Haiti, have in recent months been attempting to escape gang violence and poverty through dangerous voyages on unseaworthy vessels.
(Reporting by Brian Ellsworth in Miami; Editing by Andrew Heavens)
