The bodies of seventeen Haitian migrants were found lifeless and twenty-five others were rescued at sea during a rescue operation that continued on Sunday, July 24, after the sinking of a ship off the Bahamas. , announced the Bahamian and Haitian authorities. The boat that “would have capsized in rough seas”according to the press release issued by Prime Minister Philip Davis, left the most populated island of the archipelago “with about 60 people on board”.
Fifteen of the victims are women, a man and a child also lost their lives in this accident. “It is believed that their final destination was Miami, Florida”said the head of the Bahamian government.
“Seventeen compatriots died off the Bahamas and several [ont] missing on July 24. This new tragedy saddens the whole nation.tweeted Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry.
Thousands of people are trying to leave Haiti
The Bahamas, an archipelago of 700 islets (including 39 inhabited) located 80 km southeast of the coast of Florida and north of Cuba, are regularly used as a land of transit by migrants seeking to reach the United States. .
In Haiti, a country plagued by gang crime, where nearly half the population suffers from food insecurity, many residents regularly try to reach Florida illegally by sea, often stopping in the Bahamas or the islands. Turks and Caicos, under British authority.
“I understand that the situation many of these migrants face encourages them to take such great risks”said Philip Davis who calls “however those who are planning to make such a trip, not to do so”.