More Haitians are trying to reach the United States to escape gang violence and poverty, and on Sunday, police reported that 17 people had died after a boat carrying dozens of them collapsed off the coast of the Bahamas.
Bahamian Prime Minister Philip Davis said at a news conference that 17 people were found dead, including an infant, and 25 people were saved. According to Davis, the investigators think they were on a speedboat heading toward Miami. Rough seas are thought to have caused the shipwreck, he said.
Police Commissioner Clayton Fernander said that 60 individuals were on board, with more missing and feared dead.
Two Bahamians were reportedly arrested by Bahamian officials in connection with the alleged human smuggling operation. Migrants from Haiti were likely among all those on board, whether they were found alive, dead, or still missing.
In their quest to reach the United States, many Haitians use the Bahamas as a stopover. Over the past year, as poverty and gang violence have worsened in Haiti, more and more people have taken to taking perilous maritime journeys in flimsy boats to escape.
According to Keith Bell, immigration minister, survivors reported paying anything from $3,000 to $8,000.
Loss of life among individuals who sought a better life is a tragedy,” Bell added. Those who have loved ones still in Haiti should tell them they shouldn’t go there at this time.
In May, a boat with 842 Haitian migrants on board was heading toward the United States, but it ended up off the coast of Cuba.
In the same month, 11 Haitian migrants lost their lives when their boat sank off the coast of Puerto Rico.
Mahnur is MS(development Studies)Student at NUST University, completed BS Hons in Eng Literature. Content Writer, Policy analyst, Climate Change specialist, Teacher, HR Recruiter.
