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Rescue teams on Saturday continued their challenging search for approximately 20 migrants missing after their boat capsized off the eastern coast of the Dominican Republic.
The death toll from Friday’s incident has risen to six, according to Fernando Castillo, provincial director of Dominican Civil Defence.
The overloaded boat was en route to the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico, carrying an estimated 40 to 50 people. So far, 17 individuals have been rescued. The bodies recovered include a woman, three men, and a child, all identified as Dominican and Haitian nationals.
Difficult Conditions Hamper Search Efforts
Search operations are being severely hampered by strong waves, extensive sargassum seaweed, and dust clouds blowing in from the Sahara Desert.
Juan Salas, Civil Defence Director, specifically highlighted the sargassum as a major concern, making it difficult to spot any bodies or debris in the water.
The Dominican Navy confirmed that the migrants were attempting to travel “illegally to Puerto Rico” from the eastern tip of the Dominican Republic, near Punta Cana. Authorities stated that the group was on a “yola” boat, which are typically unregulated wooden or fibreglass vessels that do not meet safety standards.
Migrants often pay up to $7,000 for these dangerous one-way trips to Puerto Rico from the Dominican Republic, which shares the island of Hispaniola with the increasingly unstable nation of Haiti. This irregular migration route has seen a surge in popularity over the past decade.
