At least forty (40) Haitians have been killed at sea and several people were injured after their boat caught fire, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said.
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| This is a boxing arena, one of the fewer safe places in Port-au-Prince where families can escape violence by armed groups. Photo: Giles Clarke/Getty Images via nbcnews.com |
The boat which departed from Fort Saint-Michel in northern Haiti on Wednesday for the Turks and Caicos islands, a 250km (155-mile) journey conveyed more than eighty (80) people, the IOM revealed, citing the country’s migration authority.
According to aljazeera.com:
The boat caught fire off the coast of Cap-Haitien in Haiti’s north, according to the United Nations migration agency, which said 41 people were rescued by the Haitian coastguard. Eleven people were being treated for injuries, including burns.
People on the boat used matches to light candles in a ritual to ask for safe passage, leading gasoline-filled drums to catch fire and explode, Jean-Henry Petit, who heads the civil protection office in northern Haiti, told the Miami Herald newspaper.
According to the United Nations (UN), more than 550,000 Haitians have been internally displaced as a result of the violence.
Chief of IOM in Haiti, Gregoire Goodstein, said: “this devastating event highlights the risks faced by children, women, and men migrating through irregular routes, demonstrating the crucial need for safe and legal pathways for migration.”
