9 Cuban migrants die, 18 rescued off Fla.
Associated Press
MIAMI
Nine Cuban migrants died at sea, and 18 others were rescued by a cruise ship after their 30-foot boat was found about 130 miles from the Florida coast, the U.S. Coast Guard said.
The migrants were severely dehydrated when they were found Friday and said they had been at sea 22 days. The bodies of those who didn’t make it were placed overboard, said Coast Guard Petty Officer Mark Barney. The survivors were in bad condition.
The rescue by the Royal Caribbean ship took place about 130 miles west of Marco Island in southwest Florida.
They were found by the cruise ship Brilliance of the Seas. Royal Caribbean reported the event to the Coast Guard and made the decision to bring the migrants to its next port of call, Cozumel, Mexico.
“The Coast Guard has observed a steady increase in illegal maritime migration attempts from Cuba to the southeastern U.S. since the U.S. announcement of normalized diplomatic relations with Cuba in December 2014,” the Coast Guard said in a press release.