The United States Border Patrol reported this Wednesday that 20 people are missing on the Florida coast after that a Cuban immigrant ship sank due to Hurricane Ian.
Border Patrol agents responded to the arrival of a migrant in Stock Island, Florida, authorities said on Twitter. The United States Coast Guard launched a search operation for 23 missing persons, and the agency later said it had rescued three of them. They were taken to a local hospital for symptoms of exhaustion and dehydration.
Four other Cuban immigrants swam to shore after their boat sank due to inclement weather, said the chief agent of the Walter Slosar Patrol. Local media said that those four were also hospitalized.
On Tuesday, the storm hit Cuba, leaving power to 11 millions of people and devastated the western end of the island with violent winds and flooding. Earlier Wednesday, the state electricity provider said it had begun restoring power to the eastern end of the island.
The passage of Hurricane Ian through Cuba left at least two people dead, both occurring in the highly affected western province of Pinar del Río. A woman died after a wall collapsed on her and a man died after her roof collapsed on him, state media reported.
The hurricane hit Cuba at a time of serious economic crisis. Power outages and prolonged shortages of food, medicine and fuel are likely to complicate efforts to recover from Ian.