At least 40 migrants have died and several others were injured after a boat they were travelling in caught fire off the northern coast of Haiti, according to a United Nations agency on Friday. A government official stated that the migrants were attempting to escape to the Turks and Caicos Islands.
The U.N.’s International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported that the Haitian Coast Guard rescued 41 survivors, 11 of whom were hospitalized, some with burns. The IOM informed, “At least 40 migrants have died, and several others were injured.”
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Among the dead was the boat’s captain, according to Arnold Jean, a spokesperson for the police in Cap-Haïtien. The boat, which was carrying over 80 people, had departed from the port of Labadee on Wednesday, heading to the Turks and Caicos Islands, a 150-mile journey, the IOM reported, citing Haiti’s National Office for Migration.
Civil Protection official Jean Henry-Petit indicated that the fire likely started when two drums of gasoline ignited. According to a witness, passengers were consuming rum and whiskey, which may have come into contact with the flammable substance, leading to the fire.
UNHCR is deeply saddened by the deaths of at least 40 people who lost their lives in a boat fire off the coast of Haiti.
We share our deepest sympathies with those who lost loved ones in this tragedy.
Nobody should have to risk their lives on dangerous journeys to reach safety.
— UNHCR United States (@UNHCRUSA) July 19, 2024
Migration from the impoverished Caribbean nation has been increasing for months, as thousands of people flee escalating violence from criminal gangs that now control large areas.
“Haiti’s socioeconomic situation is in agony,” said Gregoire Goodstein, IOM’s chief of mission in the country. “The extreme violence over the past months has only driven Haitians to take even more desperate measures.”
Hundreds of police officers from Kenya have been deployed to Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, as part of an international effort to stabilize a country plagued by political, social, and economic turmoil.
According to the IOM, more than 86,000 migrants have been forcibly returned to Haiti by neighboring countries this year. Last month, the IOM reported that data indicated over 578,000 people were internally displaced across Haiti, a 60% increase since March.
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