98 migrants rescued from boat off Florida coast lacked food

BOCA RATON, Fla. (AP) — Almost 100 people, mostly from Haiti, who were rescued from an overcrowded boat off the Florida coast had no food or water for two days, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.

A Coast Guard helicopter spotted the 96 Haitians, as well as a passenger each from Uganda and the Bahamas, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) east of Boca Raton, Florida, last week. They were transferred to Bahamian authorities on Sunday.

The passengers told Coast Guard crew members that they had been at sea for a week and lacked food and water during the last two days. The 40-foot cabin cruiser was overloaded with 53 men, 35 woman and 10 children, the Coast Guard said in a statement.

No one was injured.

“Smugglers do not care whether you live or die,” said Capt. Robert Kinsey of the Coast Guard’s District Seven, citing the lack of sustenance and the overloaded vessel. “These people are lucky to be alive.”

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