Fleeing Haitians Caught at Sea, Returned by U.S.

U.S. returns Haitians caught at sea

About 80 Haitians tried to escape the devastated island nation over the weekend by boat, but were intercepted and returned, reports the Miami Herald.

The desperate group, many of whom were lucky to survive the Jan. 12 earthquake, were caught on board "a grossly overloaded, 30-foot sail freighter" off the coast of the Bahamas. Bahamian authorities then contacted the U.S. Coast Guard, who returned the 78 men, women and children back to Haiti.

It's the first report of Haitians trying to leave the country by sea since the devastating 7.0 earthquake that, at last count, has killed more than 270,000 Haitians.

U.S. officials were concerned that a mass exodus of Haitians to South Florida would happen in the days after the quake and stepped up patrols to ensure it wouldn't happen.

"The U.S. government remains alert to the possibility of increased illegal migration from Haiti after the Jan. 12 earthquake near Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and has increased its patrol presence in the Caribbean to quickly interdict would-be migrants and safely return them to their country of origin,'' the Coast Guard said in a statement.
 

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