{"id":239681,"date":"2021-05-29T05:53:18","date_gmt":"2021-05-29T09:53:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/?p=239681"},"modified":"2021-05-29T05:53:18","modified_gmt":"2021-05-29T09:53:18","slug":"tragedy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/cuba-usa\/tragedy\/","title":{"rendered":"Tragedy: two Cubans die, 10 disappear and eight survive when boat capsizes south of Key West"},"content":{"rendered":"

Two Cubans died and another 10 disappeared this Thursday after the boat on which they were <\/span>sailing to the United States<\/span><\/a> capsized off Key West, Florida. Eight others survived and were rescued, the U.S. Coast Guard said in a statement.<\/span><\/p>\n

A Coast Guard cutter was on patrol in the area, about 16 miles southwest of Key West, when it found the survivors in the water at around 1 p.m. Thursday, Coast Guard spokesman Jos\u00e9 Hern\u00e1ndez said in an interview this Thursday night with ABC.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s not clear what type of vessel the 20 people were traveling on. \u201cWe didn\u2019t see any boats. The survivors were found in the water,\u201d said the spokesman.<\/span><\/p>\n

On the other hand, Sheriff Rick Ramsay, of Monroe County, south of Miami-Dade County, affirmed in a text message, also Thursday night, that originally 20 Cubans were on board the ship that sank, but that he had no more data and that the team of investigators was in the preliminary stage of their work.<\/span><\/p>\n

On the morning of this Friday, the Coast Guard spokesman confirmed to <\/span>OnCuba<\/b> that the searches continued throughout the morning without locating more survivors. \u201cWe\u2019re looking for 10 people who would still be in the water,\u201d said Petty Officer Hern\u00e1ndez.<\/span><\/p>\n

The survivors said they had left this Sunday from the port of Mariel, located on the Cuban north coast, and that the boat capsized on Wednesday night. The following night they were aboard a Coast Guard ship, where they received food, water and basic medical care.<\/span><\/p>\n

Two cutters, several smaller boats and two helicopters from the Key West Coast Guard station are participating in the searches.<\/span><\/p>\n

Just 90 miles from Cuba, the Florida Keys continue to be a frequent destination for Cubans trying to reach the United States through the Straits of Florida, but because of the strong currents in the area, the Coast Guard constantly warns of the dangers of making the trip.<\/span><\/p>\n

On the other hand, in a separate episode this Saturday, someone called authorities to alert them to nearly a dozen people aboard a raft on Marathon Key, about an hour north of Key West. When the Coast Guard got to the boat they found that one of the Cubans on board was already dead. His son reported that the raft had overturned at the beginning of the trip and that they lost food, water and medicine.<\/span><\/p>\n

The United States Coast Guard has intercepted nearly 300 Cubans at sea since the start of the fiscal year in October, the agency said. This is the largest increase since 2017. Last fiscal year, only 49 Cubans were located trying to migrate to the United States.<\/span><\/p>\n

The number of Cubans who tried to reach the United States increased during the Obama administration. In the last year of the Obama presidency, 5,396 were intercepted.<\/span><\/p>\n

EEUU: repatr\u00edan migrantes cubanos interceptados en el mar<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n