A rickety boat intercepted on the high seas was so overloaded with 240 Haitian immigrants that it was starting to sink when the US Coast Guard spotted it, the agency said Thursday.
The illegal passengers are seen literally clinging to the edge of the boat and resemble sardines in a can in shocking pics taken by Coast Guard choppers before the craft was cut off Sunday near the Turks and Caicos islands in the Caribbean, the maritime enforcement and rescue agency said in a release.
Night-vision video footage of the operation shows a small Coast Guard boat moving in on the packed “unlawful migrant voyage” as the craft as it bobbles in the water about 15 miles south of the islands.
“The successful interdiction and safe removal of these individuals from a perilous situation was made possible by the close collaboration and swift response of the Coast Guard, [US Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations] personnel, and authorities from the Turks and Caicos Islands,” said Lt. Chelsea Garcia, Guard deputy director of Operations Bahamas Turks and Caicos.
“We strongly advise anyone considering participating in an unlawful maritime migration attempt to reconsider. These journeys are extremely hazardous, frequently involving severely overcrowded and unseaworthy vessels that are often taking on water and lack basic life-saving equipment.”
The migrants all claimed to be Haitian citizens fleeing their home island, the Coast Guard said.
More than 140 crew members from the Coast Guard’s Miami air station took part in the operations, along with police and first-responders from Turks and Caicos.
The sinking boat was towed to safety and the migrants taken into custody.
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