[ad_1]
MIAMI (United States), Jan. 3 (AP) — Crews from two cruise ships rescued about two dozen migrants in small boats, authorities said, the latest in hundreds of people who have landed or attempted to land in the Florida Keys over the past few days. .
The crew of the Celebrity Beyond rescued 19 migrants from a crowded boat on Monday, and the crew of the Carnival Celebration found five victims on a small boat about 29 miles (46 kilometers) northwest of Cuba.
Once the migrants were rescued from the drifting boat, the crew of the Carnival Celebration contacted the U.S. Coast Guard, who detained them at sea, said Carnival Cruise Line spokesman Matt Lupoli.
“The ship resumed its voyage unaffected by its scheduled itinerary and Carnival Celebration returned to Miami Tuesday morning after a week-long Caribbean voyage,” Lupoli said in an email.
Captain Kate McCue, captain of the Celebrity Beyond, posted video of Monday’s rescue on social media. In the video, she said she turned the ship around after her first officer noticed a glimmer of light on the horizon that turned out to be migrants.
Once the migrants were on board, the crew provided them with blankets, a change of clothes, food and a medical evaluation, she said. The Coast Guard was contacted.
“Thank you to all the crew who made this rescue possible,” McCoo wrote.
Celebrity did not immediately respond to emailed inquiries.
The rescue operation came after a wave of migrants landed in the Florida Keys over the past few days in what the local sheriff’s office called a “crisis.”
Over the weekend, 300 migrants arrived in the sparsely populated Dry Tortugas National Park, about 70 miles (113 kilometers) west of Key West. The park was closed so law enforcement and medical personnel could evaluate them before moving them to Key West.
Separately, 160 migrants arrived in other parts of the Florida Keys by boat over the New Year weekend, and about 30 of the two new arrivals were spotted in the Middle Keys on Monday.
“This demonstrates the federal government’s lack of a work plan to deal with foreseeable mass immigration,” Monroe County Sheriff Rick Ramsey said at a news conference Monday.
U.S. Border Patrol and Coast Guard agents patrolling South Florida and the Keys have experienced the largest escalation of migrants by boat in nearly a decade, with hundreds of interceptions in recent months. Most of the migrants are from Cuba and Haiti, fleeing economic turmoil, food shortages and soaring inflation. (Associated Press)
(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)
[ad_2]
Source link