11 dead as Dominican migrant boat capsizes

SANTO DOMINGO – A boat carrying some 70 migrants bound for Puerto Rico capsized Saturday after sailing from the Dominican Republic, leaving at least 11 people dead, authorities said.

“There were 72 people on the boat, and we have 11 dead – six men and five women,” Luis Frias, civil defense director in Sabana de la Mar, 155 kilometers (96 miles) northeast of the capital Santo Domingo, told AFP.

Thirteen people have been rescued, according to the Dominican navy.

Survivors in a local hospital said their boat capsized after it was swamped by heavy waves in rough weather, according to Frias.

The navy said in a statement that it only learned of the disaster hours after the morning accident. It immediately launched a search and rescue effort that continued throughout the day but was slowed due to nightfall.

It was not immediately clear if those still unaccounted for were considered missing in the water or swam to safety.

Illegal migration in rickety handmade boats, particularly to the US island territory of Puerto Rico, is a constant problem in the Dominican Republic, where residents often seek to flee economic hardship and pursue better job opportunities.

The US Coast Guard deployed an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter and the Coast Guard Cutter Sapelo patrol boat from a base in Puerto Rico, as well as a sentry aircraft from the US naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to participate in the search in Samana Bay off the northern Dominican coast.