Dominican authority says 17 different refugees and migrants rescued from the boat heading for Puerto Rico, a US territory.
4 refugees and migrants have died and about 20 have been lacking after their boat capsized off the coast of the Dominican Republic within the Caribbean, authorities mentioned, as Haitians and Dominicans proceed to take life-threatening dangers to make the crossing to what they hope is a greater life.
The Dominican civil defence authority was quoted by AFP information company as saying on Friday that 17 different folks have been rescued from the boat, which was carrying about 40 folks and headed for Puerto Rico, a United States territory.
The Caribbean nation’s navy mentioned it had rescued 10 Dominicans and 7 Haitians. A toddler was among the many survivors.
So-called “yola” migrant boats, such because the one which bumped into hassle, are constructed from wooden or fibreglass and don’t adjust to security laws, in line with authorities.
Refugees and migrants pay as a lot as $7,000 for a one-way journey to Puerto Rico from the Dominican Republic, which shares the island of Hispaniola with crisis-torn Haiti.
Unlawful migration from the Dominican Republic to Puerto Rico has been a rising phenomenon within the final decade.
In 2022, at the very least 5 folks drowned and one other 66 have been rescued in an incident involving a suspected human smuggling boat close to the uninhabited island of Mona, west of Puerto Rico.
Mona Island, a nature reserve, is positioned between the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico and has, through the years, been utilized by smugglers carrying folks between the 2. These on that route are sometimes Dominican or Haitian.