After a boat carrying more than 20 people capsized in the second migrant smuggling accident in a week, US Coast Guard officials scoured the waters off Puerto Rico on Friday.
Around 1 a.m., the Coast Guard received a call reporting people in the sea off the northwestern coast of the US territory in the Caribbean.
The Coast Guard claimed in a statement that they were aboard a homemade sailboat on a suspected human trafficking trip to Puerto Rico.
About 70 meters off the beach in Isabela, the boat flipped over. Several people were spotted running inland from the water, according to the caller.
Authorities in Puerto Rico detained 12 of the migrants, the nationalities of whom are unknown.
According to the Coast Guard statement, survivors reported there were 27 people on the boat.
“Border Patrol authorities continue to work to determine how many people were actually on the vessel and how many others made it safely to shore,” it added.
A rescue chopper is searching the accident area for possible survivors.
On Thursday, the Coast Guard called off a search for 34 people missing from a boat that capsized off Florida after hitting rough water on a suspected human smuggling trip from the Bahamas.
#UPDATE @USCG crews are still searching. The good Sam notified #USCG Sector #Miami watchstanders, Tuesday, at approx. 8 a.m. after rescuing a man on a capsized vessel. Multiple cutters & aircraft are searching from #Bimini, #Bahamas to #FortPierce Inlet.
— USCGSoutheast (@USCGSoutheast) January 25, 2022
More updates follow. pic.twitter.com/kCVQ4LCaTe
Image Credit: AFP
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