NASSAU, July 24 (Reuters) – Sixteen people have died off the Bahamas after a boat carrying Haitian migrants capsized, authorities said on Sunday, amid continued flows of illegal sea crossings to the United States.
Four women and 17 men were rescued at sea, Immigration Minister Keith Bell told Reuters, calling on people with Haitian relatives to advise them not to risk their lives.
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)