Miami, Jan. 15 (EFE). – The US company reports that a Royal Caribbean cruise ship bound for the Bahamas has rescued a group of 17 Cubans stranded at sea on a fragile vessel.
The Miami, Florida-based company said in a statement that the Liberty of the Seas cruise ship encountered a “small floating vessel in need of assistance” on Saturday, adding that the crew “immediately launched a rescue operation, with 17 people safely on board.”
Royal Caribbean added that after the rescue, the crew provided medical care to the rafters before handing them over to the US Coast Guard.
Josh Levine, a cruise passenger and witness to the rescue, told local broadcaster WPTV that the group said they had been at sea for “weeks.”
At the beginning of this month, the crews of two cruises that covered routes in the Caribbean saved 24 migrants who were on fragile boats and were trying to reach the coast of Florida (USA).
Florida has in recent weeks recorded a notorious increase in the arrivals of immigrants, mostly from Cuba and Haiti, as well as the interceptions of ships off its coast.
On Friday, the Florida Department of Emergency Management (FDEM) noted that since August of last year more than 5,200 immigrants have arrived at 306 landings in this southern state, with a total of 8,400 illegal immigrants intercepted at sea returning. EFE
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