4 drowned, 5 missing from capsized boat off Florida Keys
MARATHON - At least four people are believed to have drowned and rescuers were searching for another five people off the Florida Keys after a homemade vessel capsized during a failed migration attempt.
The U.S. Coast Guard said nine people were rescued and the body of one person was recovered Saturday after the boat capsized about 50 miles from Little Torch Key.
Some of those rescued were wearing life jackets which likely saved their lives in the waves that hit as high as 8 feet amid 30 mph winds, the Coast Guard said in a tweet.
The agency did not identify the country of origin for the migrants but did tag the US Embassy in Cuba's Twitter account in their tweets about the incident.
U.S. Border Patrol said there has been nearly a 300 percent increase this year in migrants arriving by boat. In October, there were 54 landings that involved 850 migrants compared to last October when there were only 14 landings.