21 people drown in Haiti boat capsize

Twenty-one would-be migrants have died and 17 are feared drowned after their boat capsized after hitting poor weather off the north of Haiti.

At least 21 people have died and 17 others are missing in a suspected boat capsizing off Haiti's northern coast.

The group was among 50 believed to be aboard a boat heading to the nearby Turks and Caicos Islands.

Survivors have told police the boat encountered bad weather and tried to return to Haiti when it hit something, according to Jean Henri Petit, an official with Haiti's Civil Protection Department.

The bodies began to wash ashore on Thursday morning in the coastal town of Le Borgne, about 160km north of Port-au-Prince, police inspector Jean Mesamours said.

Families of 10 of the victims have picked up the bodies, while the other 11 dead have been buried in a mass grave because no one has claimed them, Petit says.

The Turks and Caicos Islands are a popular destination for Haitian migrants despite authorities warning them the voyage is perilous.


Share
1 min read

Published

Updated

Source: AAP

Tags

Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world
21 people drown in Haiti boat capsize | SBS News