Haitian Capsize

[Emancipation 2]

Holy ####### this is tragic.

http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2007/05/04/h...an-capsize.html

At least 20 Haitian migrants dead after packed boat capsizes

Last Updated: Friday, May 4, 2007 | 12:01 PM ET

CBC News

At least 20 bodies were recovered, some partially eaten by sharks, and 58 people are still missing after a boat loaded with Haitian migrants capsized Friday in the Atlantic Ocean southeast of the Bahamas.

Survivors told police there had been about 150 people aboard the seven-metre boat when it capsized early Friday, about a kilometre south of Providenciales Island, part of the Turks and Caicos, the U.S. Coast Guard said.

Officials said 63 of them were rescued almost immediately after their boat overturned.

A police boat, guided by a coast guard helicopter, also later rescued 10 people who were found clinging to the hull of the capsized vessel.

"Right now, we've rescued 73, and there are 20 dead," U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Barry Bena told CBC News Friday.

A C-130 aircraft has been deployed from Clearwater, Fla., and a cutter to assist in the search. Seas are calm and ideal to conduct a search, Bena said.

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"We believe we can find more."

Earlier reports by the coast guard said the boat capsized while being towed to safety by a Turks and Caicos police boat, but local authorities denied that.

Perilous crossing

An Associated Press reporter saw about 12 bodies that had been pulled from the water and brought to South Dock, on Providenciales, about 200 kilometres north of Haiti. Some of the corpses reportedly had limbs chewed off.

Each year, hundreds of Haitians attempt the perilous water crossing in rickety boats to gain access to a better life in the United States. But unlike their Cuban counterparts, the Haitians are not eligible for the so-called wet foot/dry foot rule, which grants legal status to Cuban migrants who reach U.S. soil.

Since January, 909 Haitians have been interdicted, including 195 in May, the Coast Guard said.

With files from the Associated Press

[JODO 2]

I cannot get the sharks thing out of my mind. It is a shame how desperate some people are to escape their motherland.

[mRx 16]

Im having a hard time feeling sorry for people who failed at illegally entering our country.

[MaydayDas 1]

Well it is tragic, no matter how wrong they did choosing the illegal path. They were looking for a better life, may God give them a better one in the Heaven!

[Savanphil 3]

This happens often...I wonder when they will learn, or if this is just a risk that they are willing to take, either way its sad

[sereia 0]

part of me has a hard time feeling sorry for them for trying to come here illegally...

but to think of the way they died... is soooooooooooo awful! imagine the desperation to even GET on a little boat and risk getting eaten by sharks?

but haiti is quite the dump... its even one of the very few countries i wouldn't bother traveling to (and i would go almost ANYWHERE) because of how dangerous it is.

but from what i hear from friends in miami (which is where the majority of them settle), the haitians there aren't much different. my friend just got mugged by one of them yesterday in fact.

[peejay 327]

It's a sad situation. The survivors will get sent back to Haiti (and should be). To do otherwise would encourage a mass flotilla of refugees to be launched to the USA.