The Coast Guard is searching the waters between Florida and the Bahamas for 38 missing people from a capsized vessel suspected of being involved in a human smuggling operation.
Coast Guard Captain Jo-Ann Burdian said at a Wednesday morning press conference that one body had been recovered and one survivor was rescued after nearly 24 hours of search and rescue operations between Fort Pierce, Florida, and the island of Bimini in the Bahamas. A commercial ship rescued the only known survivor Tuesday morning, who said the vessel with 39 other people capsized due to bad weather shortly after launching from Bimini on Saturday night.
“We do suspect that this is a case of human smuggling,” Burdian said. “This event occurred in a normal route for human smuggling from the Bahamas into the southeast United States.”
FOUR PEOPLE, INCLUDING BABY, FREEZE TO DEATH TRYING TO CROSS INTO THE US FROM CANADA
The Department of Homeland Security is investigating the human smuggling element while the Coast Guard focuses on search and rescue, she said. Coast Guard planes spotted several debris fields in the water, which Coast Guard boats will investigate Wednesday with the hope of finding more survivors, she added.
The survivor is in stable condition after being treated for dehydration and sun exposure and told investigators that no one was wearing a life vest.
“The decision to take to the sea is a complicated one,” Burdian said. “As we saw in this case, the waters in the north Florida Straits can be quite treacherous. Small vessels, overloaded and with inexperienced operators and bad weather can be incredibly dangerous.”
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The Coast Guard did not release the nationality of the survivor or those of the missing.
The Bahamas are a stepping stone for illicit sea travel to the United States, with many Cuban and Haitian migrants choosing the dangerous route, the Associated Press reported.
