Officials said at least 28 Haitians drowned off the coast of Abaco in the Bahamas on Saturday night, according to BBC News.
"Thus far, a total of 17 persons have been rescued alive and 28 bodies have been recovered from the water" after conducting two days of dive operations, the Royal Bahamas Defence Force said.
The shipwreck occurred on Saturday night after the vessel carrying the Haitians sank 10 miles (10 kilometers) off the coast of Marsh Harbour, Abaco.
Fifteen survivors and 13 dead bodies were recovered on Saturday after RBDF and the United States Coast Guard carried out a joint mission, with two more survivors being found on Sunday.
Officials also found another 15 bodies inside the sunken boat.
The U.S. Embassy in Haiti said the vessel was trafficking people out of Haiti.
"No journey is worth risking lives - please urge families and communities: Illegal migrant & smuggling operations are dangerous and frequently end in tragedy," U.S. Embassy officials tweeted.
The RBDF noted nearly 300 Haitians had been apprehended since the beginning of 2019 for illegal entry across four separate incidents.
Due to widespread poverty in Haiti, many try to find better lives in the Bahamas or Turks and Caicos by illegally migrating to the nearby islands.
Thousands of Haitians have also migrated to Chile or Brazil to try and find employment since it is much easier to obtain a visa to the Latin American countries.
There has also been a shift away from migrating to the United States into Canada.
Haiti is the poorest country in the Caribbean, with more than half of the population living on less than $2 a day.
The RBDF said around six boats carrying dozens of migrants often arrive at one time, but the ships are usually intercepted at sea and transferred to the immigration department which deports most of the migrants back to Haiti.
-WN.com, Maureen Foody
Photo:
AP / Ramon Espinosa
