38 rescued, 11 dead near Puerto Rico
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – At least 38 people have been rescued and 11 bodies found as the U.S. Coast Guard scoured the open waters northwest of Puerto Rico on Friday via boat, plane and helicopter in a bid to find more survivors after a boat carrying suspected migrants capsized.
The group was first spotted Thursday morning by a U.S. Customs and Border Protection helicopter. Rescue efforts were concentrated in an area more than 11 miles north of the uninhabited island of Desecheo, which lies west of Puerto Rico.
“We always look for the possibility of finding survivors,” said Coast Guard spokesman Ricardo Castrodad, adding that crews worked through the night.
It was not immediately clear how many people were in the boat. Of the 38 survivors, 36 were Haitian and two were from the Dominican Republic, he said. At least eight Haitian nationals have been hospitalized, although the nationalities of all those aboard was not immediately known.
“Our hope and prayers are with the survivors and those still missing,” said Coast Guard Rear Adm. Brendan McPherson. “Our highest priority is saving lives, and that is what my crews will exhaust themselves doing.”
All 11 victims were female, according to Puerto Rico’s Forensic Science Institute, which announced it was forming a special team to perform autopsies Friday on the bodies recovered. María Conte Miller, the institute’s executive director, said her agency has been talking to Dominican consular officials to identify family members of those who died.
Authorities in recent months have noted a sharp increase in migrants, especially from Haiti and the Dominican Republic, making what they describe as dangerous voyages aboard rickety ships that often capsize or drop people off in uninhabited islands.