A boat caught fire off the northern coast of Haiti on Friday, killing 40 Haitian migrants on board and injuring many others.
Government officials said the people on board were heading to the Turks and Caicos Islands to escape the political turmoil currently gripping the Caribbean nation of Haiti. CBS News report.
A United Nations agency said at least 40 people were killed and several injured when a boat carrying migrants caught fire off the northern coast of Haiti. https://t.co/FFFLk003Rr
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The Haitian coast guard was able to save 41 lives, but an official UN agency said 40 people were reported dead, CBS reported. Several who survived also suffered injuries, including severe burns.
There were just over 80 passengers on board.
🚨ðŸ‡ðŸ‡¹ Tragic boat fire off the coast of Haiti leaves 40 migrants dead
The boat, carrying more than 80 people, left Labadee on Wednesday and was headed for the Turks and Caicos Islands.
The Haitian Coast Guard rescued 41 survivors, 11 of whom were hospitalized.
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The wrecked ship left the port of Labadee on Wednesday, originally bound for an island in the Turks and Caicos archipelago, a voyage that was supposed to cover 150 miles but unfortunately was not completed.
The captain was among the dead, according to Arnold Jean, an official law enforcement spokesman for the municipality of Cap-Haitien in northern Haiti, near where the ship caught fire, according to CBS. (Related: Firefighter drowns while rescuing flood victims)
At least 40 people have been killed and others injured after a boat carrying Haitian migrants fleeing gang violence caught fire off the coast of Cap-Haitien, the International Organization for Migration said.
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Jean-Henry Petit of Haiti's civil defense agency speculated to CBS that the root cause of the fire was likely the ignition of two gasoline drums.
Henry Petit said the passengers had been drinking whiskey and rum and that the alcohol may have spilled onto flammable materials.
Over the past few months, there has been a surge in migration from Haiti, with more people suddenly seeking to leave the crime-ridden country where “gangs now control 80 percent of the capital,” CBS reported. (Related: Biden administration preparing to offer deportation protections to hundreds of thousands of Haitians in the U.S.)
Hundreds of armed Kenyan police forces have been deployed as part of a UN-backed mission to quell gang street violence that is wreaking havoc across Kenya. Al Jazeera report.
A second contingent of 200 police officers from Kenya arrives at Toussaint Louverture International Airport in Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince on July 16, 2024. Another 200 police officers have arrived in Haiti under a UN-backed mission to try to quell rampant gang violence. The deployment comes after Kenya sent about 400 police officers to Port-au-Prince in June as part of a controversial proposal to send about 1,000 police officers to help stabilize the country. (Clarence Chiffroy/AFP) (Clarence Chiffroy/AFP via Getty Images)
The United States, the Bahamas, the Turks and Caicos Islands and Jamaica have become the most popular destinations for migrants fleeing the chaotic countries they once considered home.
