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  1. #1
    Senior Member butterbean's Avatar
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    Fla. boat flips, dumping migrants in ocean

    MIAMI (AP) -- A boat filled with migrants from Haiti and the Bahamas capsized off the coast of Florida on Wednesday, dumping as many as 28 people in the ocean.

    Twenty-one people were pulled from the water off Fort Lauderdale, seven of them unresponsive, the Coast Guard said. Those seven were being taken to the hospital.

    The boat flipped about 2 a.m. but the Coast Guard didn't learn about it until another boater called more than 10 hours later. He said he'd pulled three people from the water and about 25 others were awaiting rescue.

    Delray Medical Center reported it was treating two women pulled from the water - one in stable and one in critical condition. The hospital said it was expecting another helicopter but did not know how many patients might be aboard.

    It was unclear where the boat was coming from or how many people might still be in the water. Rescues were taking place about 15 miles offshore and water temperatures by the afternoon were in the high 70s.

    Two helicopters, a jet and three boats were involved in the rescue.

    http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/ ... SECTION=US
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  2. #2
    Senior Member swatchick's Avatar
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    This is not the first time this has happened in South Florida. Many times it doesn't even make the news. Sad but true. I don't know what it is but for some reason most Haitians don't know how to swim and therefore die. In fact North Miami Police Department had to get rid of the swimming test for recruits due to the Haitians not being able to apply. They now need to pass it before they graduate the academy.
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  3. #3
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    The Coast Guard must have been snoozing, because I know they have the radar capability to track any vessel many miles off shore.
    And, furthermore, if our Congress and federal gubbernment had the chutpah to start enforcing laws on the books, rather than doing the wink and nod routine with greedy corporations, we would not have the massive problem we have now. And we wouldn't be spending millions in rescue and hospitalization nor incarceration and delivering them first-class back home.
    These folks don't want citizenship; they want our money and social services. That is the better life they are seeking, plus having a few anchor babies.
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  4. #4
    Senior Member SeaTurtle's Avatar
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    I just want to extend a heartfelt thank you to whatever whale/dolphin/wave that knocked this boat over.


    I just wanted to say I don't mean it's good that people got hurt, I only meant that it brings attention to the problem in FL.
    The flag flies at half-mast out of grief for the death of my beautiful, formerly-free America. May God have mercy on your souls.
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  5. #5
    Senior Member swatchick's Avatar
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    Vortex actually when Hiatians come here illegally they often have relatives here who are legal. When they get here they use the realtives ID and go to work. My friend is a store manager and has an employee ICE is monitoring for that scenario.
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  6. #6
    Senior Member FedUpinFarmersBranch's Avatar
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    At least 9 immigrants dead off Boynton Inlet; Coast Guard recovers 24; search continues

    By MICHAEL LaFORGIA and BILL DiPAOLO

    Palm Beach Post Staff Writers

    Wednesday, May 13, 2009

    RIVIERA BEACH — At least nine immigrants died after an overloaded boat carrying Haitians and Bahamians capsized and sank early this morning off the Palm Beach County coast, officials said.

    Twenty-four people were pulled from the ocean this afternoon. The U.S. Coast Guard, which mounted a dramatic rescue effort today, suspects more might still be adrift.

    CBS 12 video: Rescue efforts

    Photos: Rescue and recovery





    About 12:40 p.m., a boater cruising 15 miles off shore spotted two of the immigrants, who went into the water about 2 a.m., floating between the Palm Beach and Boynton inlets. The boater called the Coast Guard, officials said.

    Aside from the two immigrants recovered initially, eight were dead and 14 were unresponsive, said Petty Officer Colin Ryan. A ninth person died after being flown to an area hospital in a Coast Guard helicopter, Ryan said.

    Coast Guard Capt. James Fitton said rescuers still didn't know this evening how many people were swept into the ocean. He estimated the number at between 28 and 30.

    "Nobody has an actual head count," Fitton said.

    The Coast Guard cutter Cormorant and at least two small boats searched for more survivors, said Petty Officer Barry Bena. Federal officials ordered planes and helicopters to keep 3 nautical miles away and at least 1,000 feet above the Coast Guard ships as they worked.

    Ryan said the immigrants' boat sank this morning.

    "There was no sign of the boat," Ryan said. "We don't know what size the boat was."

    Earlier today, a Coast Guard helicopter flew two young women to Delray Medical Center, said hospital spokeswoman Shelly Weiss.

    One woman was in critical condition and the second was in good condition, Weiss said.

    The Coast Guard flew a third survivor to Palms West Hospital in Loxahatchee, said hospital spokeswoman Lisa Gardi. That person was still alive this afternoon, Gardi said.

    About 4:20 p.m., two boats pulled in to the Coast Guard's station in Riviera Beach. Rescue workers unloaded a woman and a man, both of whom were conscious and moving. The woman, who officials said was pregnant, looked in her 30s and wore a blue dress. The man, who apparently suffered from appendicitis, looked in his early 20s and wore a gray T-shirt.

    About 4:40 p.m., survivors started trickling in by ambulance to St. Mary's Medical Center. The hospital treated a total of three people, said spokeswoman Julia Smith.

    At its station in Riviera Beach, the Coast Guard processed survivors who didn't need hospitalization. Medical workers treated the walking wounded and immigration officials stood by.

    The Medical Examiner, meanwhile, set up its portable morgue to take in the dead at Phil Foster Park in Riviera Beach.

    As the rescue operation took shape, a Coast Guard flight surgeon was flown by helicopter to the 87-foot cutter, where he directed triage as the survivors were brought aboard, said Bosun's Mate 1st Class Tom Sims.

    About 5 p.m., a 41-foot Coast Guard ship set out for the cutter to pick up more wounded survivors and carry them back to shore. Riviera Beach Fire-Rescue workers were aboard the ship to help, officials said.

    As rescue workers searched the ocean, an unprecedented rescue effort unfolded on land. It included more than 45 fire and paramedic trucks from Palm Beach County, Boynton Beach, Lake Worth, and a private county contractor. Most of those emergency workers ultimately weren't needed, and they were standing down by about 4:40 p.m., county fire-rescue officials said

    About 1:30 p.m., the rescue workers swarmed the Boynton Inlet. About an hour later, the Coast Guard redirected them to Riviera Beach, prompting emergency workers to bemoan poor communication between agencies.

    As the Coast Guard brought people to shore, local hospitals braced to treat more survivors.

    "We are expecting more victims," said Weiss, the Delray Medical Center spokeswoman, but she added she didn't know how many or in what condition they'd arrive.

    Terry Brabham, captain of a diving charter based in Boynton Beach, said he tried to help rescue workers but was turned away by authorities this afternoon.

    "With that many people in the water, you never know what's going to happen," Brabham said.

    The Coast Guard was investigating reports that the boat left for Florida from the Bahamas.

    The Royal Bahamian Defence Force offered to aid in the rescue but was waved off because the survivors already were so close to the Florida coast, said Chief Petty Officer Mario Bain, from Nassau. Bain said his agency and local police in Bimini were trying to determine if the boat left from that island, which, along with Grand Bahama, is closest to the Florida coast.

    The Royal Bahamas Police Force also was investigating, said Duty Officer Sgt. Alexander Bannister in Nassau. He said his agency so far hasn't verified the boat left Bimini or any other Bahamian port or even passed through Bahamian waters.

    Fitton, the Coast Guard captain, said a helicopter will hover all night over the search area, which keeps expanding as it drifts north on the Gulf Stream. Fitton said the Coast Guard also redirected a 10-foot boat from the Bahamas to assist in the search tonight.

    According to Coast Guard figures, 1,377 Haitian immigrants were apprehended since October, up from 972 during the same seven-month period last year.


    Staff writers Eliot Kleinberg, Don Jordan and Andrew Marra contributed to this story.

    http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/conte ... 7&cxcat=76
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  7. #7
    Senior Member JohnDoe2's Avatar
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    10 dead, 17 rescued after migrant boat sinks off Fla. coast

    10 dead, 17 rescued after migrant boat sinks off Fla. coast

    Posted 6m ago

    MIAMI BEACH (AP) — At least 10 people are dead after an overloaded boat apparently carrying Haitian migrants sank off the Florida coast, the Coast Guard said Wednesday.

    Coast Guard Capt. James Fitton said 17 people had been rescued, but a search was underway for more and expected to last through the night. Authorities weren't sure how many were aboard the boat, but they believed around 30 were dumped into the sea.

    The sinking fits the profile of migrant smuggling, officials said, but they were not sure if the boat capsized or crashed into something. The boat has not been found, and is thought to have sunk because it hasn't been spotted from the air.

    "The boat was obviously overloaded," Fitton said. "It's a tragedy that someone would be so callous with human life."

    The boat apparently left Bimini in the Bahamas on Tuesday night. It was believed to have flipped at about 2 a.m. but officials didn't learn about it until another boater called more than 10 hours later. The boater reported pulling three people from the water and said about 25 others were awaiting rescue.

    Fitton said all those rescued were expected to recover. Children and women were among those aboard, including a pregnant woman.

    Two helicopters, a jet and three boats were helping in the rescue effort about 15 miles off the shore of Miami Beach where water temperatures by the afternoon were in the high 70s.

    Since October, the Coast Guard says that it had stopped 1,377 Haitians, up from 972 during the same seven-month period last year.

    The Rev. Luke Harrigan, a Fort Lauderdale pastor who ministers to the Haitian-American community, was working with the Coast Guard to help the victims. He said Haitians, who live in the Western Hemisphere's poorest nation, are known to pay $2,000 to $4,000 to be smuggled into the U.S.

    Four tropical storms and hurricanes battered the country during last year's harvest season, killing 793 people, crippling agriculture and causing $1 billion in damage to irrigation, bridges and roads.

    In January, United Nations-sponsored groups said more aid was urgently needed to stave off famine in several areas of the country.

    "The economic conditions in Haiti are deplorable, and I don't see them getting any better any time soon," said Andy Gomez, a University of Miami expert on Caribbean migration. "And the Haitian-American community has developed a pretty good network here in the last five or 10 years, just as the Cuban-Americans have done, so there's more of a reason to come."

    The Coast Guard said it was not known whether the boat's captain and any crewmembers were among those found and survivors haven't indicated who may have organized the trip.

    "We haven't even asked those questions yet," Fitton said.

    http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/200 ... boat_N.htm
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  8. #8
    Senior Member swatchick's Avatar
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    The problem is that Haiti is poor due to the government corruption. The money given to the poor is seldom used for that purpose and what little is used is not enough. They need to put someone in power and watch them in order to start building a better country. It also doesn't help that the educated and intelligent ones are here and don't do much for their country besides send money to relatives.
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  9. #9
    Senior Member FedUpinFarmersBranch's Avatar
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    Migrants brought ashore face 'expedited removal'

    Migrants brought ashore in Lake Worth and face 'expedited removal'
    By Patty Pensa, Luis F. Perez and Georgia East |
    6:05 PM EDT, May 15, 2009

    BOYNTON BEACH - The 11 migrants who survived the capsizing of an overloaded boat were brought ashore and into custody Friday afternoon after two days on a U.S. Coast Guard cutter.

    The survivors were transferred to U.S. Border Patrol and will be processed for "expedited removal," said Assistant Chief Victor Colon of the Miami Sector Border Patrol.

    The 11 migrants were part of an ill-fated voyage of possibly more than 30 people, mostly Haitians, who left Bimini together on Tuesday. Their boat capsized early Wednesday morning but the first survivors were not found until at least 11 hours later off Boynton Beach. The boat likely was part of a human smuggling operation, officials have said.

    In addition to those held on the 87-foot Coast Guard cutter, another five who needed medical attention were sent to local hospitals. Nine others, including a baby girl, died.



    Video
    Related links
    Survivors of capsized boat identified
    U.S. Coast Guard holds press conference on capsized boat Video
    U.S. Coast Guard conducts rescue operation Video
    Coast Guard called to rescue capsized boat Photos
    Fishermen recount how they helped rescue Haitians adrift at sea
    MAP: Searches from Boynton Beach to Cape Canaveral. Graphic
    Timeline: Deadly Haitian journeys since 1988
    Haitian community gathers to mourn victims of boat tragedy
    Haitian community looking for answers in wake of boat tragedy Ermanie Lubin of North Miami thanked God on Friday afternoon after learning that her nephew Guepson Lubin, 28, had survived the journey.

    "This is a blessing, This is a blessing,'' said Lubin, filled with emotion.

    Lubin has a wife, who is a U.S. citizen, and a 4-year old son in Orlando. He lived for more than 10 years between Orlando and Miami, but was deported in 2007 after his political asylum was denied.

    Jim Lubin, a cousin, said after what Guepson has been through to get here he shouldn't be sent back. "It's not fair. This is supposed to be the country of the free.'

    'Round-the-clock search-and-rescue stretched from midday Wednesday to Thursday night, though efforts were hampered by a swift-moving Gulf Stream. Coast Guard officials ended their search in Cape Canaveral.

    The Florida Immigration Advocacy Center wrote letters Thursday and Friday to the Coast Guard, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and to Immigration and Customs Enforcement asking the agencies to bring the 11 migrants on shore.

    "Conditions on a Coast Guard cutter are clearly not conducive to conducting a criminal investigation," read the advocacy's Friday letter. "Victims of smuggling are traumatized and terrified. They don't know who to trust and may fear retribution from the smugglers."

    It was the right decision to bring them on land, said Cheryl Little, advocacy center executive director. She expects the migrants to be processed then brought to the Broward Transitional Center in Pompano Beach.

    "The goal now is to find out exactly what happened and to bring the smugglers to justice," she said.

    At the same time, the Palm Beach County Medical Examiner's Office completed autopsies of the nine and turned over those reports to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said Tony Mead, medical examiner spokesman. The office is awaiting toxicology results, which could take up to 14 weeks, before determining causes of death.

    The Medical Examiner's Office declined to release the identities of those who died or a breakdown by age or gender. Only one of the dead had any identification, Mead said, and officials were working to find local relatives.

    "We'd like to get them identified as soon as possible," he said.

    Callers from Haiti have been asking about survivors, said Jean Lafortune, chairman of the Haitian-American Grassroots Coalition in Miami.

    "We still have a lot of members looking for loved ones," he said.

    Gens Flermont doesn't know if his son Elson Flermont survived the journey. His name was not on the initial list of survivors released Friday.

    "I've been crying all day,'' he said from activist Bob-Louis Jeune's office in Lake Worth. Flermont, of Lantana, said his son had been in the Bahamas visiting family. A friend called to tell him his son was on the boat.

    "People are calling from the Bahamas for information, but we don't know anything yet,'' Jeune said.

    Officials are being tight-lipped about details of the migrants who died because of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement investigation, likely into human smuggling. Haitians spend $2,000-$4,000 per person to come to the U.S. from their homeland, which has been ravaged by severe weather and civil unrest.

    "Right now, we're in the early stages of a criminal investigation," said agency spokeswoman Nicole Navas. "To not hinder any future prosecution effort, we wouldn't comment. It's too premature." Fingerprints from the migrants were cross-checked with the FBI without match, officials said.

    Patty Pensa can be reached at ppensa@SunSentinel.com


    http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/ ... 3274.story
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  10. #10
    Senior Member swatchick's Avatar
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    The problem is that the Haitian community in South Florida have taken a lesson from the Cubans and are now also payingt smugglers to bring their relatives here. It also doesn't help when out government keeps bringing up amnesty as it increases this kind of activity.
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