1. Skip to content
  2. Skip to main menu
  3. Skip to more DW sites
Live TV
Latest audioLatest videos
In focus
Russia's war in UkraineIsrael-Hamas warIndia elections
CatastropheUnited States of America

Dozens of people missing after Florida boat capsizes

January 25, 2022

The coast guard in Miami has launched search operations after a boat overturned while on its way to Florida. Thirty nine people are understood to be missing.

https://p.dw.com/p/464mC
A man, who says he was one of 40 people who the Bahamas on Saturday sits on a capsized boat off the coast of Fort Pierce Inlet, Florida
A man found perched on a capsized vessel of the coast of Florida said he had been traveling with 39 other people, none of whom were wearing life jacketsImage: U.S. Coast Guard/REUTERS

The US Coast Guard on Tuesday launched search operations for 39 people following a boat capsize near Miami.

The Miami coast guard received a report from a "good samaritan" that there was a man "clinging to a capsized vessel approximately 45 miles (72 kilometers) east of Fort Pierce inlet."

Search operations ongoing

According to the survivor, the vessel had set off from the Bahamas on Saturday night but had encountered rough seas which caused the vessel to capsize. It is understood no one was wearing life jackets.

In a statement posted on Twitter, the Miami sector of the coast guard said: "This is a suspected human smuggling venture."

Multiple boats and aircraft are involved in search operations according to the coastal law enforcement authority.

The waters around Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Cuba and the Bahamas are often used as routes by migrants attempting to make it into the US. Those found in US waters are sent back.

Last week the coast guard said it intercepted  intercepted a sail boat with 88 Haitians on board.

kb/rt (AFP, AP)