Search on for missing people off Florida Keys after 'rustic vessel' capsizes
MIAMI - On Saturday, the US Coast Guard continued searching for five people in the water after a migrant boat capsized approximately 14 miles south of Sugarloaf Key.
Officials said good Samaritans and partner agency crews rescued 8 people. Six were transferred to emergency medical services for medical evaluation. Two were rescued in good health.
Two bodies were pulled from the water by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation.
The Coast Guard received reports of people in the water at approximately 10 a.m., Friday.
"It was determined a rustic vessel on an illegal voyage to the United States capsized with 15 people aboard," officials said.
"Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families of those who lost their lives off the Lower Keys," said Rear Adm. Brendan McPherson, commander of the Seventh Coast Guard District.
"Our search continues for others that may have survived this tragic incident. This situation highlights the risks these migrants face as they attempt to enter the United States illegally by sea."
"The Florida Straits and its approaches can be hazardous for even the best trained and equipped mariners. For people illegally migrating aboard unseaworthy or overloaded boats and homemade rafts, who lack basic lifesaving equipment like life jackets, those risks can often prove deadly."
Officials said agents with support from partner agencies responded to three additional migrant landings in the Florida Keys on Friday.
They said a total to f 42 Cuban migrants were taken into custody during those three events.
Officials said that the Coast Guard cutter Issac Mayo's crew repatriated 53 Cubans to Cuba, Saturday, following several interdictions off Florida's coast.
Since Oct. 1, 2021, Coast Guard crews interdicted 3,739 Cubans compared to:
- 5,396 Cuban Migrants in Fiscal Year 2016
- 1,468 Cuban Migrants in Fiscal Year 2017
- 259 Cuban Migrants in Fiscal Year 2018
- 313 Cuban Migrants in Fiscal Year 2019
- 49 Cuban Migrants in Fiscal Year 2020
- 838 Cuban Migrants in Fiscal Year 2021