| Office of Public Affairs U.S. Coast Guard Seventh District |
|
|
| Press Release |
Date: March 9, 2004 Contact: |
|
TWENTY-SIX DOMINICAN REPUBLIC MIGRANTS INTERCEPTED ON 17-FOOT BOAT SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- A grossly overloaded boat operated by suspected smugglers attempting to slip 26 Dominican Republic migrants into Puerto Rico was sighted by a Coast Guard jet this morning west of Puerto Rico. The Coast Guard Cutter Vashon intercepted the 17-foot yola, and safely embarked the migrants. The jet spotted the yola at 10 a.m. about 54 miles west of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico. As the jet was low on fuel, it was relieved by an HH-65 helicopter from Coast Guard Air Station Borinquen. The helicopter crew maintained watch as the cutter headed to the yola's location. Once the cutter arrived on scene, they distributed lifejackets and took 23 male migrants and three female migrants aboard without incident. While on Coast Guard cutters, migrants receive food, water and medical care as needed. Since January, 2,274 Dominican Republic migrants have been intercepted/rescued at sea compared with a total of 1,469 migrants intercepted during all of 2003. The Cutter Vashon is a 110-foot patrol boat based in San Juan, Puerto Rico. ### The U.S. Coast Guard is a military, maritime, multi-mission service within the |
printer friendly