Another Man in Custody After Death of 17 Migrants Found in Capsized Boat
|
Click to Listen Now
|
Another man is in police custody over his suspected involvement in the deaths of the Haitian migrants whose vessel overturned on the choppy seas in the early morning hours.
Police say the man is 54 years old and joins the two other smugglers caught on Sunday. Police said they know the two Bahamian traffickers from previous criminal acts in the country.
17 Haitians including a child died when the speed boat used for human smuggling, capsized in Bahamian waters on their way to Florida.
The dead included 15 women, one man, and a child. The other 25 passengers were rescued from the 30-foot speedboat.
It was reported that 60 people may have boarded the boat and authorities were searching for approximately eighteen people who are unaccounted for.
The survivors said they paid the three smugglers $3000 to $8000 to catch the boat ride to Miami, Florida.
Haiti has been plagued with gang violence and economic and political instability for many years. But things have worsened following the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse last July.
The chaos has led many Haitians to flee the island-nation in search of a better life.
