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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.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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.”<\/p>\n
The survivor said the ship had set sail from Bimini in the Bahamas on Saturday evening but had faced bad weather before it capsized.<\/p>\n
“According to the survivors, none of the people on board the ship had a life jacket,” the statement said.<\/p>\n
“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.<\/p>\n
Maritime authorities said they would continue to search overnight for persons considered missing.<\/p>\n
The survivor of this incident has been taken to hospital and is being treated for dehydration and sun exposure, the Coast Guard said.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Bimini is the closest point of the Bahamas to Florida with a distance of 217 kilometers.<\/p>\n
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