May 13, 2009 7:00 pm US/Eastern
Coast Guard: Nine Dead, Search Continues Off Coast
Search For More Victims Continues Overnight
FORT LAUDERDALE (CBS4) ―
The Coast Guard is confirming nine people died at sea after their boat capsized and sank early Wednesday morning 15 miles off the coast of Boynton Beach. During an exhaustive search of 2,350 square miles, the Coast Guard rescued 17 people and continued their search Wednesday night and into Thursday morning.
The Coast Guard said they received a call around 12:30 p.m. Wednesday afternoon from a boater who said he had pulled three people from the water.
James Weber, a diver with Palm Beach Fire Rescue, was out doing exercises when the call came in. He helped recover a couple of survivors. "Their initial reaction was 'Oh God, oh God! Thank God, you guys saved us!' That was the words that came out of their mouths," he described.
The survivors said their boat had been carrying 28 to 30 people, including women and children. Many had been in the water for from ten to twelve hours; only eight recovered had life jackets.
By Wednesday night, the Coast Guard had accounted for 27 victims. Three women, a man and a boy were taken to local hospitals. Six women, two men and a little girl were deceased. Eleven others (ten men and a woman) are in the care of the Coast Guard on a cutter.
Two victims were found on Delray Beach; one was deceased, the other was taken into police custody.
Two victims were taken to Delray Medical Center. According to a hospital spokesperson, one person is stable and another is in critical condition. Another was taken to Palms West Hospital and is stable.
"Our goal is top make sure there's no one left out there and that's what we're after," said Coast Guard Captain James Fitton.
Coast Guard Captain James Fitton said there were men, women and children on board the boat and one of the women was pregnant. Fitton said most of the people appeared to be of Haitian descent.
Wednesday evening Coast Guard members loaded the bodies of eight of the deceased onto Palm Beach County Fire Rescue stretchers at Phil Foster Park in Riviera Beach. One of the bodies appeared to be that of a child.
Immigrant advocate, Cheryl Little, said these deaths once again spotlight the lengths people will take to reach American shores.
"People should not embark on these treacherous voyages," Little told CBS 4's Carey Codd. "They are taking their lives in their hands."
It's believed the boat took off from Bimini in the Bahamas. Investigators are working to determine if this was an ill-fated smuggling attempt. Fitton said the focus would remain on finding and recovering victims before looking at legal issues.
"It's a tragedy," Fitton said. "If this was a smuggling operation and somebody would be so callous with human life, it astounds us."
Two Coast Guard helicopters, a jet and three boats were involved in the search and rescue operation, as well as a few "Good Samaritan" boats. At least one helicopter and two small boats will continue searching through the night.
Captain Fitton explained the victims were "just lucky somebody came across them." They were found in the Gulf Stream, a powerful and swift Atlantic Ocean current that follows the eastern coastline. Because of this, the Coast Guard has expanded their search area.
CBS4's Kimberley Chapin contributed to this report.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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