Authorities are investigating after a woman died when more than a dozen migrants came ashore in Hillsboro Beach early Monday morning.
The migrants, who appear to be from Haiti, came ashore in the 1000 block of Hillsboro Isle around 2:15 a.m., Broward Sheriff's Office Officials said.
A total of 20 migrants were involved in the incident, including 16 who made it to shore and two women who were in the water.
One woman died and the second woman was hospitalized, officials said. Five of the migrants are children, officials said.
Another two migrants were found in the water by the Coast Guard and were being held on a vessel off shore, officials said,
Hillsboro Beach Police said there was no sign of a raft or vessel, and the migrants may have been dropped off.
Border Patrol officers and members of the U.S. Coast Guard also responded to the scene. Border Patrol took the 16 uninjured survivors into custody and called the incident a smuggling attempt.
"Smugglers started throwing migrants off the boat," Border Patrol spokesman Frank Miller said. "They start telling these people to jump off the boat, but what these migrants don't know is that it's still deep water, if they can't swim, so they drown."
Miller said they're investigating whether or not the incident is related to the four bodies found off Hollywood Beach on Sunday but said as of now, the incidents are not related.
Steve Hefner, who lives nearby, said he saw the woman who died on the beach.
"She was laying right there," Hefner said. "It was just really sad, I felt empty."
Check back with NBC 6 South Florida and NBC6.com for updates.
