Several hurt as Customs, Border Patrol try to stop boat carrying 14 migrants

sun-sentinel.com
Posted October 23 2006, 12:00 PM EDT


MIAMI ? Several Customs and Border Patrol workers were injured early Monday morning when their boats collided at high speed while trying to corral a go-fast boat with Cuban migrants on board off Key Largo.

The incident occurred about 30 miles off Key Largo shortly after midnight, Coast Guard spokesman Petty Officer Dana Warr said, and involved an attempt to intercept a human smuggling operation.



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Warr said a Coast Guard helicopter responded to the collision and hoisted four injured agents aboard and rushed them to Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami. Miami TV stations reported that two of the agents were treated and released and the two others were being held for observation and treatment.

No other details of the collision were immediately available but Warr said the boat carrying migrants was interdicted about three miles off Miami's Virginia Key later in the morning. All the people on the go-fast -- 14 migrants and two suspected smugglers -- are now aboard a Coast Guard cutter. Most probably will be sent back to their homeland.

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