Sixteen dead after vessel carrying Haitian migrants capsizes in The Bahamas
Sixteen people died after a vessel carrying Haitian migrants capsized off the Bahamas coast.
It comes amid a continuing wave of sea migration toward the United States, including more than 150 having to be saved off Florida on Thursday.
Four women and 17 men were rescued from the incident, immigration minister Keith Bell told Reuters.
'We mourn lives lost of those seeking a better way of life,' Bell said. 'Those here with families and friends in Haiti, encourage your loved ones not to risk their lives.'
The Bahamas police said the boat capsized some 7 miles (11 kilometres) off the island of New Providence.
The Bahamas is a frequent transit route for Haitian migrants seeking to reach the United States.
Dangerous sea voyages in rickety vessels have become increasingly common over the last year as Haitians flee poverty and gang violence.
It comes just days after The US Coast Guard averted what may have been a disaster when it intercepted a ramshackle sailboat off the coast of Florida.
Extraordinary images show at least 150 men, women and young children crowded on the boat with no floor to move on the wooden vessel near Miami.
The US Coast Guard, Miami-Dade police and other law enforcement agencies were on the scene after intercepting the sailboat on Thursday morning.
The US agencies deployed four boats to surround the ramshackle sailboat before moving closer to toss the migrants’ life jackets and water.
The migrants were transferred from the 'overloaded and unsafe sailing vessel' to the Coast Guard cutter crews, officials said.
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