3 dead, 10 missing after makeshift vessel capsizes near Puerto Rican island: USCG
Nearly 50 people have been rescued, the Coast Guard said Tuesday.
At least three people are dead and 10 remain missing after a makeshift vessel carrying more than 60 passengers capsized near a Puerto Rican island, the United States Coast Guard said Tuesday.
The vessel reportedly capsized late Sunday night about 10 miles off Mona Island, according to the Coast Guard. The uninhabited island is located in the middle of the Mona Passage, a strait between Hispaniola and Puerto Rico.
The vessel capsized "after a fight broke out and people were severely injured by a machete, forcing people to jump into the water and attempt to swim to Mona Island," the Coast Guard said.
Crew members on another boat reported to the Coast Guard around noon local time Monday that they had rescued four people in the water.
There were 62 people on the capsized vessel, none of whom were wearing life jackets, according to the Coast Guard.
As of midday Tuesday, 49 people have been rescued and three people have been recovered dead, the Coast Guard said.
The search for the remaining 10 missing people is ongoing. Multiple agencies, including the U.S. Coast Guard, Puerto Rico Police and the Dominican Republic Air Force, are involved in the search effort.
The Coast Guard did not say where the capsized vessel had originated.
The survivors were being transported ashore to U.S. Homeland Security Investigations and U.S. Customs and Border Protection "for further investigation," the Coast Guard said.