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The U.S. Coast Guard is searching for 39 people who reportedly went missing after a boat capsized off the coast of Florida. The ship is suspected of being involved in human smuggling activities.
Authorities said they received information Tuesday that a man had rescued a man who was “being held on a capsized boat about 45 miles east of Fort Pierce.”
The survivor said the ship had set sail from Bimini in the Bahamas on Saturday evening but had faced bad weather before it capsized.
“According to the survivors, none of the people on board the ship had a life jacket,” the statement said.
“Air Guard crews and other naval teams are actively searching for people on the water. “This is suspected to be a smuggling venture with human beings,” the statement posted on Twitter added.
Maritime authorities said they would continue to search overnight for persons considered missing.
The survivor of this incident has been taken to hospital and is being treated for dehydration and sun exposure, the Coast Guard said.
Human smugglers often use the Bahamas – a group of islands off the coast of Florida – as a point of transportation for people, most of whom come from other Caribbean countries such as Haiti and are destined for the United States.
According to the International Organization for Migration about 5,000 migrants from Haiti work illegally in the Bahamas, but 20,000 to 50,000 Haitians stay in the state illegally.
Bimini is the closest point of the Bahamas to Florida with a distance of 217 kilometers.
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