| Office of Public Affairs U.S. Coast Guard Seventh District |
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| Press Release |
Date: Feb. 27, 2004 Contact: |
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TEAM EFFORT RESCUES 55 DOMINICAN REPUBLIC MIGRANTS FROM SINKING BOAT Multi-agency action averts tragedy at sea SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- Federal and local agencies combined efforts to save the lives of 55 Dominican Republic migrants last night as the intercept of a suspected smuggling boat turned into a rescue effort when the grossly overloaded boat began sinking 15 miles northwest of Punta Borinquen, Puerto Rico. The suspected smuggling boat, a 25-foot yola, was first spotted by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) aircraft about 10:30 p.m. A Forces United for Rapid Action (FURA) boat and the Coast Guard Cutter Matinicus responded with the FURA boat arriving alongside the yola an hour later. Its crew discovered the yola was taking on water at a dangerous rate and immediately began taking the migrants aboard. The cutter arrived minutes later and its crew joined the rescue effort. All the migrants, 41 males and 14 females, were taken aboard the cutter. ICE and Coast Guard helicopters stood by during the recovery effort which was aided by calm winds and seas. It is expected the migrants will be repatriated to the Dominican Republic. While on Coast Guard cutters, migrants receive food, water and medical attention as needed. Since the beginning of the year, 2,140 Dominican Republic migrants have been intercepted at sea, compared with 1,469 intercepted during all of 2003. "It was really fortunate the winds and seas were calm. If conditions had been rough, the boat wouldn't have stayed afloat long enough for our crews to assist. We had a migrant tragedy last week and came close to having an even worse tragedy last night," said Lt.j.g. Patrick Castro of the Coast Guard Greater Antilles Section. The Cutter Matinicus is a 110-foot patrol boat based in San Juan, PR ### The U.S. Coast Guard is a military, maritime, multi-mission service within the |
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