MIAMI – The United States authorities are searching this Wednesday for at least 23 missing Cuban migrants after a shipwreck in the Florida Keys in the midst of the Hurricane Ian emergency, while four others traveling in the same boat reached land, according to the Customs and Border Protection Office (CBP).
According to a tweet from Walter N. Slosar, head of CBP in the Miami Sector, his agents went today to the disembarkation area, where four of the Cuban migrants “swam to shore after their boat sank due to inclement weather.” of time”.
Others 23 migrants traveling in the same boat are missing, reported Slosar.
The landing took place today in the area of Stock Island, east of Key West, at a time when Hurricane Ian, category 4 and with winds of 250 km/h is getting closer It heads to the west coast of Florida, where it is expected to make landfall this Wednesday.
According to the local television channel WPLG, the medical conditions of the migrants “are not yet clear.”
Right now, the Florida Keys are on high alert for Hurricane Ian, the fourth of the Atlantic hurricane season, and with heavy rains that continue to hit the extensive chain of keys to the south
In addition, Slosar confirmed via Twitter that seven Cubans arrived in Pompano Beach (southeast Florida) on Tuesday and they were immediately arrested.
Slosar published a photo of a precarious boat next to Pompano Beach in which the Cubans arrived.
“Don’t risk your life trying this trip in the sea. Storm surge coupled with king tides can create treacherous marine conditions even after a storm passes,” warned the chief of the border guard.
For its part, the 7th Coast Guard District American pointed out on the same social network that until last Saturday the United States had repatriated 6 052 Cubans since it began the current fiscal year.
“We have lost 63 people at sea this fiscal year, crews are redoubling efforts to make sure that number does not increase,” the federal agency said.
Ian hit Cuba last Tuesday as a powerful category 3 hurricane and made landfall in La Coloma, Pinar del Río (southwest), with maximum winds sustained greater than 200 km/h, traveling less than 20 kilometers per hour (Km/h) northbound.
It is This Wednesday, the powerful hurricane heads towards the west coast of Florida with winds of 155 miles per hour (250 km/h), where it is expected to make landfall and produce catastrophic effects.
You may be interested:
Live video from YouTube shows the impact of Hurricane Ian in different cities in Florida hours after it makes landfall in the state