49 Rescued, 10 Missing After Migrant Boat Capsizes Near Puerto Rico

The U.S. Coast Guard has rescued 49 people and is searching for 10 others after a boat carrying 62 migrants capsized in open waters west of Puerto Rico, officials said Tuesday.

At least three bodies have been recovered since the vessel overturned late Sunday near Mona Island. According to officials, one passenger attacked others aboard with a machete, inflicting severe injuries and prompting dozens of people to jump into the sea.

Coast Guard spokesperson Ricardo Castrodad said the majority of those on board were migrants from the Dominican Republic, while two are believed to be from Haiti. He said it was not immediately clear what triggered the attack, which "created a situation of panic."

Castrodad said the toll could have been far higher had a passing vessel not reported the incident on Monday afternoon and helped pull four people from the water. "Everyone could have easily died," he said.

Helicopters flew over Mona Island and surrounding areas on Tuesday as rescuers continued to look for the missing. Coast Guard video showed at least two survivors in life jackets walking along the rocky shoreline, with one leaping into the water toward a rescuer as waves broke against the outcrop.

The voyage is the latest deadly crossing of the Mona Passage, the treacherous stretch of water separating Puerto Rico from Hispaniola, the island shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Migrants fleeing poverty and violence have long undertaken the journey.

In June 2022, 11 Haitian girls and women died when a grossly overloaded boat capsized in open waters northwest of Puerto Rico.