CMC – The death toll from Monday’s boat accident filled with Haitian immigrants, which capsized in waters off North Abaco is expected to rise.
Police officials in the Bahamas said that the search and rescue operations will resume today for at least 12 missing bodies.
It’s reported that at least 28 people had boarded the boat “Glory Time” on Monday. However, 11 bodies had been recovered, while 12 other passengers were still missing.
The police said five other passengers were able to swim to shore.
The police said that the Haitians were heading to Florida from Abaco, when a distressed call was made after the boat encountered rough seas and was taking in water before capsizing.
The authorities said that “officers from the Royal Bahamas Police Force, the Royal Bahamas Defence Force, the US Coast Guard, BASRA and other concerned citizens” responded to the call that had been received late Monday.
The U.S. Coast Guard dispatched a plane based in Miami and a helicopter based on Andros Island, Bahamas, to help search for survivors.
Haitian migrants have been coming to the Bahamas for years, fleeing severe poverty in the Western Hemisphere’s poorest country. The migrants mostly try to reach the US, though some stay in the Bahamas to form a low-income workforce.
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