At least 17 die after migrant boat sinks

MEXICO CITY－A boat carrying Haitian migrants capsized off the Bahamas early on Sunday, and Bahamian security forces recovered the bodies of 17 people and rescued 25 others, authorities said.

It was not clear if there were people missing after the boat sank about 11 kilometers from New Providence.

Prime Minister Philip Brave Davis said in a statement that the dead included 15 women, one man and an infant. He said the people rescued were taken for observation by health workers.

Davis said investigators had determined that a twin engine speed boat left the Bahamas at about 1 am carrying 60 people, apparently bound for Miami.

Davis said a criminal investigation has begun into the suspected human-smuggling operation.

"I would like to convey the condolences of my government and the people of the Bahamas to the families of those who lost their lives in this tragedy," Davis said. "My government, from the time it came to office, has warned against these treacherous voyages."

Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry said he sympathized with the parents of the victims.

"This new drama saddens the whole nation," he said. "I launch, once again, an appeal for national reconciliation in order to solve the problems that are driving away, far from our soil, our brothers, our sisters, our children."

A year after the assassination of Haitian president Jovenel Moise last July, gang violence has grown worse and its economy has gone into freefall. Attempts to form a coalition government have faltered, and efforts to hold general elections have stalled. The turmoil has led a growing number of people to flee the country of more than 11 million in search of better and safer lives.

Human smugglers are known to use the Bahamas, a group of islands near the coast of Florida of the United States, as a jumping-off point for the potentially treacherous sea journey for Haitians seeking to reach the US.

Several sinkings involving migrants have occurred in the Caribbean this year, including one in May in which 11 people died and 38 were saved off Puerto Rico. Another incident in January saw one man rescued and another dead after a boat carrying 40 migrants went down off Florida, with the missing never found.

Governments in the region, including the US, have reported a surge in the number of Haitians detained trying to enter other countries.

Agencies - Xinhua