11 drown after boat capsizes near Puerto Rico

At least 11 people died after a vessel capsized off the coast of Puerto Rico, the US Coast Guard said on Thursday.

The vessel was carrying an unspecified number of people, and 31 had been rescued as of 6 p.m. local time (2200 GMT), the Coast Guard said. 

The vessel, with mainly Haitian migrants on board, was found 10 miles (16 kilometers) north of Desecheo Island, an uninhabited US territory between Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic.

The Coast Guard said in a statement they received communication at approximately 11:47 a.m (0347 GMT) local time Thursday that the US Customs and Border Protection aircrew "had sighted a capsized vessel with people in the water who did not appear to be wearing life jackets."

Rescue mission ongoing

Coast Guard spokesman Ricardo Castrodad said a "mass rescue effort" was underway, with multiple helicopters and a Coast Guard vessel searching for survivors in the waters.

"We're looking to rescue as many people as we can and find as many survivors as we can," Castrodad added.

The Coast Guard added the US Customs and Border Protection agency and Puerto Rican teams were assisting with the recovery effort at night.

Survivors taken to Puerto Rico

Survivors have been taken to Puerto Rico, and eight of them were being treated at a local hospital there, said Jeffrey Quinones, public affairs officer for US Customs and Border control in Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. Puerto Rico is a US territory. 

The Associated Press news agency reported that the eight at the hospital were Haitians, but that the nationalities of others rescued weren't immediately clear.

Latest in a string of accidents at sea

The incident was the latest deadly accidents in the waters near Puerto Rico as Haitians and Dominican Republicans flee violence and poverty in their countries.

Last week, the US Coast Guard and the Dominican Navy rescued around 68 migrants in the treacherous Mona Passage that separates Dominican Republic from Puerto Rico.

Castrodad said the voyages were dangerous and vessels were grossly overloaded without lifesaving equipment. "It wouldn't really take much for any of these vessels to capsize," Castrodad explained.

From October 2021 until March 2022, 571 Haitians and 252 people from the Dominican Republic were detained in waters around Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands, according to data from the US Customs and Border Protection agency.

Haiti has been wracked by gang violence in recent months, forcing thousands to flee their homes. Rival gangs have expanded their dominance, leaving state authorities virtually powerless in many parts of the country.

rm/wmr (Reuters, AFP, AP)