At least 40 Haitians killed in boat fire, UN migration agency says
Al Jazeera
More than half a million Haitians have been internally displaced by gang violence that killed hundreds this year.
At least 40 Haitians have been killed at sea and several people were injured after their boat caught fire, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said.
The boat, which was carrying more than 80 people, departed from Fort Saint-Michel in northern Haiti on Wednesday for the Turks and Caicos islands, a 250km (155-mile) journey, the IOM said on Friday, citing the country’s migration authority.
The boat caught fire off the coast of Cap-Haitien in Haiti’s north, according to the United Nations migration agency, which said 41 people were rescued by the Haitian coastguard. Eleven people were being treated for injuries, including burns.
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 newspaper.
“This devastating event highlights the risks faced by children, women, and men migrating through irregular routes, demonstrating the crucial need for safe and legal pathways for migration,” said Gregoire Goodstein, IOM’s chief in the country.
