Daijiworld Media Network - San Juan

San Juan, Sep 30: The U.S. Coast Guard has rescued 49 people and launched a search for 10 others after a boat carrying migrants capsized in open waters west of Puerto Rico, officials said Tuesday.

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 triggering panic that forced dozens of people to jump into the water.

Coast Guard spokesperson Ricardo Castrodad said the majority of those aboard were migrants from the Dominican Republic, while two are believed to be from Haiti. He said authorities did not know what prompted the attack.

Castrodad said the death toll could have been much higher if a vessel passing through the area on Monday afternoon had not spotted the incident, reported it and helped rescue four people.

“Everyone could have easily died,” he said.

Helicopters were deployed over Mona Island and nearby waters on Tuesday as rescuers searched for the missing passengers. Coast Guard footage showed at least two survivors wearing life jackets walking along the rocky edge of the island. One was seen jumping into the water toward a rescuer as waves struck the rocky outcrop.

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

Migrants fleeing poverty and violence have long attempted the dangerous journey. In June 2022, 11 Haitian women and girls died after an overloaded boat carrying migrants capsized in open waters northwest of Puerto Rico.