Search and rescue teams continue to search for survivors around a nature reserve on Mona Island, about 70 kilometers west of the coast of Puerto Rico.
At least five people drowned and 66 were rescued after a vessel believed to belong to smugglers abandoned them in the waters between the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, the US Coast Guard announced Thursday.
Search and rescue teams continue to search for survivors around a nature reserve on Mona Island, about 70 kilometers west of the coast of Puerto Rico.
The five bodies were found at sea, the US Coast Guard said. Among the 66 people rescued, two were minors.
Neither the number of people on board nor their nationalities was announced.
Dozens of people have died in the Caribbean in recent months trying to reach the US. Puerto Rico is a US territory.
Many of the victims of the recent tragedies fled Haiti, one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere, where the political and economic crisis of recent years has been exacerbated by the rise of gang violence.
On Sunday, 17 Haitian migrants died and 25 were rescued when the boat they were on capsized near the Bahamas as they tried, authorities said, to reach Florida.
Sea currents are strong around Mona Island, between Puerto Rico and Hispaniola, the island shared by Haiti (west) and the Dominican Republic (east).
In May, 11 migrants died in the same area after the shipwreck they were on board.
RES-EMP
View the news feed and get the latest news.
