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.” --->READ MORE HERE
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Passengers claimed Haitian nationality as the overcrowded boat was secured and towed by responding crews
An overcrowded migrant vessel carrying 240 people and taking on water was intercepted near the Turks and Caicos Islands after authorities raced to prevent a potential maritime disaster.
The U.S. Coast Guard said it conducted a joint operation Sunday with U.S. Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations and the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force (RTCIPF) to stop a vessel carrying hundreds of migrants who claimed Haitian nationality.
According to a Coast Guard news release, authorities received a report of "an unlawful migrant voyage" approximately 15 miles south of the Turks and Caicos Islands.
Video released by the Coast Guard shows responding crews assisting local authorities as they secured and towed the overcrowded vessel.
The Turks and Caicos Islands Border Force later took custody of the vessel and its passengers, the Coast Guard said.
More than 140 personnel participated in the operation, according to the agency.
"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, CBP AMO personnel, and authorities from the Turks and Caicos Islands," Lt. Chelsea Garcia, deputy director of Coast Guard Operations Bahamas and Turks and Caicos, said in a statement. --->READ MORE HERE
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