NASSAU, July 24 (Reuters) – Seventeen people have died off the Bahamas after a boat carrying dozens of Haitian migrants capsized, authorities said on Sunday, amid continued flows of illegal sea crossings to states. -United.
Rescuers recovered the bodies of 17 people, including a child, and rescued 25 people, the Prime Minister said.
Philip Davis told a press conference that authorities believed the boat was heading to Miami, Florida.
According to the police chief, more than 60 people could have been on board, suggesting that other migrants are missing at sea.
The authorities have announced that they have arrested two people for their alleged involvement in this illegal crossing.
The Bahamas are regularly used as a transit point for Haitian migrants wishing to reach the United States.
Sea crossings from Haiti have multiplied over the past year, as many islanders seek to escape poverty and violence.
(Report Jasper Ward, with Brian Ellsworth Miami; French version Jean Terzian)