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| Nine Cubans die at sea and 18 rescued off Florida, US coast guard reports | Nine Cubans die at sea and 18 rescued off Florida, US coast guard reports |
| (about 17 hours later) | |
| 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 US coast guard said on Saturday. | 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 US coast guard said on Saturday. |
| 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. | 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.” | “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. | 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. |
| Related: Obama in Cuba: locals near Guantánamo share mixed feelings on future of US base | Related: Obama in Cuba: locals near Guantánamo share mixed feelings on future of US base |
| They were found by the cruise ship Brilliance of the Seas. Royal Caribbean reported the struggling craft to the coast guard, and made the decision to bring the migrants to its next port of call, Cozumel, Mexico. | They were found by the cruise ship Brilliance of the Seas. Royal Caribbean reported the struggling craft to the coast guard, and made the decision to bring the migrants to its next port of call, Cozumel, Mexico. |
| The rescue comes as Barack Obama travels to Cuba to meet with Raúl Castro during a two and a half-day visit that begins Sunday. The visit is part of Obama’s efforts to normalize relations with Cuba. While the US has eased travel restrictions to the island Cuba, many Cubans still risk their lives to reach the US. | |
| “The Coast Guard has observed a steady increase in illegal maritime migration attempts from Cuba to the southeastern US since the US announcement of normalized diplomatic relations with Cuba in December 2014,” the coast guard said in a press release. | |
| Last month, 269 Cuban migrants attempted to reach US shores and about 2,420 have tried to reach the United States by sea since last October. | Last month, 269 Cuban migrants attempted to reach US shores and about 2,420 have tried to reach the United States by sea since last October. |
| On the same day Royal Caribbean rescued the group it found, the coast guard returned 42 other migrants to Cuba after they were picked up in the Florida Straits in two separate incidents earlier in the week. More than 40,000 Cubans entered the US in the 2015 fiscal year, according to US customs and border protection data. | On the same day Royal Caribbean rescued the group it found, the coast guard returned 42 other migrants to Cuba after they were picked up in the Florida Straits in two separate incidents earlier in the week. More than 40,000 Cubans entered the US in the 2015 fiscal year, according to US customs and border protection data. |