Florida, Jan 26: The US Coast Guard has launched a search operation for 39 people who went missing when their boat capsized off the coast of Florida in a “suspected human smuggling venture”.
According to the Coast Guard, the officials were alerted on Tuesday morning after the fishermen spotted a man clinging to the hull of a boat 72km from the city of Fort Pierce, BBC reported.
They said in a tweet: “Coast Guard Sector Miami watchstanders received a report from a good Samaritan who rescued a man clinging to a capsized vessel approximately 45 miles east of Fort Pierce Inlet. “The survivor reported he left Bimini, Bahamas, with 39 other people Saturday night and encountered severe weather, causing the vessel to capsize. According to the survivor, no one was wearing a life jacket.”
They further said the boat may have been part of a “human smuggling venture”. “Coast Guard air and surface asset crews are actively searching for people in the water. This is a suspected human smuggling venture,” the coast guard added.Â
