Four saved, 5 missing after capsized boat drifted for a day, Florida cops say
.jpeg "A good Samaritan reported seeing a group of people clinging to a capsized boat 29 miles east of Florida. Four people were rescued and five remain missing, officials say.")
Five people remain missing after a boat capsized 29 miles off Florida during “a failed smuggling venture,” according to investigators.
A group of survivors was discovered early Sunday, April 13, one day after the 25-foot boat dumped them into the Atlantic Ocean, the Martin County Sheriff’s Office reported in an April 13 news release.
Nine people were aboard when it capsized, the U.S. Coast Guard says.
“Four individuals were recovered and flown to an area hospital, while five others remain unaccounted for. The group includes individuals from the Dominican Republic and Haiti,” the sheriff’s office said. “According to the survivor, five of the boat’s occupants drowned when the boat capsized.”
There have been conflicting reports on when the boat launched and how many people were aboard.
U.S. Coast Guard investigators say one survivor reported the boat left Bimini in the Bahamas on Friday, April 11, and it capsized early Saturday morning.
The search for the five missing was suspended Monday, April 14, after USCG boats and aircraft covered “more than 1,240 square miles,” officials said. The search was focused 30 miles off St. Lucie Inlet, which is about a 115-mile drive north from Miami.
Identities of the boaters and their intended destination have not been released.
“The decision to suspend a search is always difficult and never taken lightly,” USCG Chief Warrant Officer Edgardo Insignares said in a news release.
“Smugglers routinely exploit vulnerable aliens for profit while putting their lives at risk aboard overloaded and unseaworthy vessels. These dangerous and illegal voyages must not be attempted. Safe, legal and orderly migration saves lives. Don’t take to the sea.”
Florida’s coastline has become a target for risky “illegal maritime voyages” from Caribbean islands, many of which are intercepted by the U.S. Coast Guard, federal officials say.
This story was originally published April 14, 2025 at 11:56 AM with the headline "Four saved, 5 missing after capsized boat drifted for a day, Florida cops say."