More than 50 Haitian migrants feared dead near Turks & Caicos
The U.S. Coast Guard said Friday it was searching for an estimated 58 undocumented migrants after a Haitian sail-freighter with an estimated 150 people on board capsized early Friday morning while it was being towed by a Turks & Caicos police vessel.
The vessel capsized about a half-mile south of Providenciales Island in the Turks & Caicos at about 4:20 a.m. and the Coast Guard was notified by Turks & Caicos police at about 5 a.m.
The Miami-based Coast Guard District 7, which covers the entire southeastern United States and the entire Caribbean Basin area, said the police vessel immediately recovered 63 people from the water, but survivors estimated there were 150 people aboard the 25-foot to 30-foot Haitian vessel.
The Miami Herald reported 22 bodies had been recovered from the waters along the shore of Providenciales Island, but many more were missing.
The Coast Guard dispatched the cutter Forward to the scene, along with a C-130 aircraft from the Coast Guard Station Clearwater, Fla. and an HH-60 helicopter that was deployed in the Bahamas.
The Coast Guard office in Miami said that by 6:35 a.m. the HH-60 helicopter had located about 20 dead migrants, and reported seeing another 10 clinging to the hull of the capsized vessel.
More than 50 Haitian migrants feared dead near Turks & Caicos
