One Jamaican migrant dies, 11 pulled from sea

BySonja Isger
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Updated: 9:44 p.m. Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Posted: 8:23 a.m. Tuesday, June 14, 2011

A boat that capsized off Palm Beach County shores Wednesday morning, killing one person and sending another to the hospital, apparently was ferrying migrants who were trying to enter the country illegally from Jamaica, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.

A Coast Guard cutter spotted the 24-foot boat running without its navigational lights at 2:30 a.m. about 24 miles off of Delray Beach.

Coast Guard crews reported seeing a crowd emerge from the boat's lower cabin.

At 4:30 a.m. the boat capsized about 12 miles east of Riviera Beach, sending all aboard into the water.

The Coast Guard pulled 11 people out, sending one to shore at the Riviera Beach Marina to be checked out at a hospital, the Coast Guard reported.

A four-hour search began for a woman reported missing by those rescued.

Her body was found underneath the capsized vessel before 9 a.m. by Palm Beach County Sheriff's divers.

Ten of those rescued, who claimed Jamaican nationality, were in good condition, the Coast Guard said.

The Coast Guard and other agencies are investigating the circumstances of the apparent migrant-smuggling voyage.

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