10 Cuban migrants rescued from sinking vessel off Florida

Associated Press

Updated: Feb 6, 2022 / 01:06 PM CST

This image made available by the the U.S. Coast Guard shows Cuban migrants on a sinking vessel spotted on Thursday, Feb. 3, 2022, about 40 miles off Key Largo, Fla. “They didn’t have lifejackets or safety equipment,” said Capt. Shawn Koch, commanding officer of Air Station Miami. “If the air crew hadn’t found them on the patrol, these people would not have survived the night.” The migrants were repatriated to Cuba, the Coast Guard said. (U.S. Coast Guard via AP)

MIAMI (AP) — Ten Cuban migrants in a sinking vessel were rescued off the Florida coast, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.

A Coast Guard boat spotted the vessel Thursday about 40 miles off Key Largo, the Coast Guard said in a tweet.

“They didn’t have lifejackets or safety equipment,” said Capt. Shawn Koch, commanding officer of Air Station Miami. “If the air crew hadn’t found them on the patrol, these people would not have survived the night.”

Six migrants were repatriated to Cuba, and four others were evacuated to Florida for medical treatment, the Coast Guard said.

The rescue came two weeks after a boat believed to be used for human smuggling capsized off Florida’s coast en route from the Bahamas. Only one of the 40 passengers survived.