At least 40 Haitian migrants died on the high seas on Wednesday after their ship caught fire, it was reported The International Organization for Migration (IOM), quoted by Reuters and BTA.
The ship, which was carrying more than 80 people, left the Haitian port of Saint Michel and headed for the Turks and Caicos Islands (a British overseas territory), IOM said, citing data from Haitian migration services.
p>
Forty-one migrants survived the fire and were rescued by the Haitian coast guard.
The head of the civil protection service in the north of Haiti, Jean-Henri Petit, told the newspaper “Miami Herald” that people on board had lit candles as part of a prayer for a safe journey, which led to the blaze, and after this and to the explosion of barrels full of gasoline.
„This shocking event is yet another vivid example of the risks faced by children, women and men who migrate along illegal routes,” said IOM Head of Mission in Haiti Grégoire Goodstein.
Goodstein stressed that increasing gang violence in Haiti in recent months has forced Haitians to “resort to desperate measures” to flee their homeland. The violence has fueled a humanitarian crisis that has driven nearly 600,000 people from their homes and five million people are at risk of severe food insecurity.