Late Wednesday afternoon, November 24, the fishing vessel Jerimar alerted the United States Coast Guard to the presence of a small drifting boat about 2 nautical miles north of Mona Island, in the waters of Puerto Rico. An MH-60T Jayhawk helicopter flew from Borinquen Air Station and changed the route of the USCGC Dauntless (WMEC-624) a 210ft Coast Guard vessel for search operations.

Shortly after, the helicopter crew located the drifting craft and the migrants and sent the coordinates to the Dauntless Coast Guard in order to reach their position.

The Dauntless attended the scene and the crew safely boarded 10 Haitian migrants, a man and 9 women, all showing symptoms of severe fatigue and hypothermia. They received food, water and basic medical care.

The castaways said their boat became out of service after hitting reefs near Mona Island. They then jumped out of the boat and attempted to swim to shore. The survivors also reported that two other of their companions wearing heavy clothing also fell from the boat but were unable to swim.

On Friday, November 26, the Coast Guard in a statement said boats and helicopters were continuing to search for survivors. However, searches so far have not found 2 of the missing migrants.

See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34835-haiti-news-zapping.html

https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-34503-icihaiti-rescue-48-illegal-haitians-abandoned-on-an-island-in-the-strait-of-mona.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-13089-haiti-social-risk-his-life-at-sea-migrants-testify-video.html

S/ HaitiLibre