Coast Guard: 9 Cuban Migrants Die, 18 Rescued Off Florida

Nine Cuban migrants died at sea and 18 others were rescued by a cruise ship after their 30-foot boat was found about 130 miles from the Florida coast, the U.S. Coast Guard said.

Mexican Navy personnel help Cuban migrants after being rescued in Cozumel, Mexico, on March 19, 2016. According to a U.S Coast Guard news release, "18 reported Cuban migrants were picked up by the Royal Caribbean's Brilliance of the Seas cruise ship west of Marco Island, Fla. The 18 migrants were reportedly suffering from severe dehydration and claimed they left Cuba 22 days ago where nine of the migrants perished at sea during the journey." Angel Villegas via AP

MIAMI—Nine Cuban migrants died at sea and 18 others were rescued by a cruise ship after their 30-foot boat was found about 130 miles from the Florida coast, the U.S. Coast Guard said.

The migrants were severely dehydrated when they were found Friday and said they had been at sea 22 days. The bodies of those who didn’t make it were placed overboard, said Coast Guard Petty Officer Mark Barney. The survivors were in bad condition.

“They could barely walk off the vessel itself,” Barney said. “They were weak and they were shaking.”

The rescue by the Royal Caribbean ship took place about 130 miles west of Marco Island in southwest Florida. The migrants were in a “rustic” boat that was about 30-feet long, Barney said.

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