Coast Guard searches for survivors after boat carrying migrants capsizes near Puerto Rico, two believed to be Haitian

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — The U.S. Coast Guard said Tuesday it had rescued 49 people and was searching for 10 others after a boat carrying migrants recently capsized in open waters west of Puerto Rico.

At least three bodies have been recovered since the boat, carrying 62 passengers, overturned late Sunday near Mona Island. Officials said one passenger attacked others with a machete, causing severe injuries and forcing dozens to jump into the water.

U.S. Coast Guard spokesperson Ricardo Castrodad said in a phone interview Tuesday that the majority of people aboard the boat were migrants from the Dominican Republic, while two are believed to be from Haiti.

He said he didn’t know what prompted the attack, which “created a situation of panic.”

Castrodad said the number of victims could have been much higher if it weren’t for a vessel passing through the area on Monday afternoon that reported the incident and helped rescue four people.

“Everyone could have easily died,” he said.

Helicopters hovered over Mona Island and nearby areas on Tuesday as rescuers searched for the missing.

A Coast Guard video showed at least two survivors wearing life jackets walking along the edge of the rocky island, with one jumping into the water toward a rescuer as waves slapped against the outcrop.

It is the latest deadly voyage involving a makeshift vessel attempting to cross the treacherous Mona Passage that separates Puerto Rico from the island of Hispaniola, which is shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

Migrants fleeing poverty and violence have long made that journey.

In June 2022, 11 Haitian girls and women died after the grossly overloaded boat they were in capsized in open waters northwest of Puerto Rico.