Boat fire kills at least 40 Haitian migrants, IOM reports
Updates with details from IOM statement in lead, paragraphs 2-3-5-6, context paragraph 7
PORT-AU-PRINCE, July 19 (Reuters) -At least 40 Haitian migrants were killed at sea after the boat they were traveling on caught fire on Wednesday, theInternational Organization for Migration (IOM) in Haiti said on Friday.
The boat, which was carrying over 80 people, departed from Fort Saint-Michel in Haiti's north and was headed for the Turks and Caicos islands, the IOM said in a statement, citing the Caribbean nation's migration authority..
Forty-one migrants survived the fire and were rescued by the Haitian coast guard. They are currently receiving care and support provided by the IOM, and 11 of them were taken to the nearest hospital, the statement said.
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.
"This devastating event highlights the risks faced by children, women, and men migrating through irregular routes," IOM's chief of mission in Haiti Gregoire Goodstein said in a statement.
Goodstein also stressed that the extreme gang-fueled violence in Haiti over the past many months has pushed Haitians "to resort to desperate measures" to flee the country.
Several hundreds Kenyan police have arrived in Haiti over the course of July as part of the long-delayed mission mandated to help Haitian police fight armed gangs that have taken over most of capital Port-au-Prince. The violence has fueled a humanitarian crisis that has driven nearly 600,000 from their homes and 5 million into severe food insecurity.
Reporting by Harold Isaac and Stéphanie Hamel, Writing by Kylie Madry; Editing by Anthony Esposito
Latest News
Disclaimer: The XM Group entities provide execution-only service and access to our Online Trading Facility, permitting a person to view and/or use the content available on or via the website, is not intended to change or expand on this, nor does it change or expand on this. Such access and use are always subject to: (i) Terms and Conditions; (ii) Risk Warnings; and (iii) Full Disclaimer. Such content is therefore provided as no more than general information. Particularly, please be aware that the contents of our Online Trading Facility are neither a solicitation, nor an offer to enter any transactions on the financial markets. Trading on any financial market involves a significant level of risk to your capital.
All material published on our Online Trading Facility is intended for educational/informational purposes only, and does not contain – nor should it be considered as containing – financial, investment tax or trading advice and recommendations; or a record of our trading prices; or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instruments; or unsolicited financial promotions to you.
Any third-party content, as well as content prepared by XM, such as: opinions, news, research, analyses, prices and other information or links to third-party sites contained on this website are provided on an “as-is” basis, as general market commentary, and do not constitute investment advice. To the extent that any content is construed as investment research, you must note and accept that the content was not intended to and has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such, it would be considered as marketing communication under the relevant laws and regulations. Please ensure that you have read and understood our Notification on Non-Independent Investment. Research and Risk Warning concerning the foregoing information, which can be accessed here.
