NASSAU, Bahamas (CMC) – Bahamian police yesterday said they had captured 31 Haitians, including three women, even as the authorities were repatriating more than 100 Haitians who survived the tragic accident at sea that left 30 of their compatriots dead late last month.
The authorities said the latest batch of Haitians landed at Long Island and that they were searching for others who may have escaped.
The 111 Haitians, included women were flown back to Port au Prince yesterday as the Bahamas announced plans to send back 342 people on three flights.
Some of the migrants still bore the wounds they suffered over three days clinging to the craft after it struck a reef and capsized in the southern Bahamas.
The authorities said while 30 people died in the November 25 accident not all of their bodies have been recovered. The recovered bodies were expected to be buried in the Bahamas.
Survivors have said that about 250 people were aboard the boat bound for the Bahamas from La Tortue, a mountainous island north of Haiti known as a smugglers hideaway.
Some people said they paid as much as US$450 to make the dangerous journey, hoping to reach the United States.
The authorities believe the migrants had been at sea for eight to nine days with limited food and water and no lifejackets.
The Bahamas has already called for a meeting with the various stakeholders in a bid to try and end the dangerous journey by the Haitians.
