Local authorities in Eleuthera (a small island in the Bahamas) report that on Tuesday at around 3:20 pm, a man contacted by telephone the police station of Governor's Harbor (small town in the center of Eleuthera), claiming to be aboard a boat carrying Haitian migrants, who took water off the south coast of the island.

Following this information, Chief Superintendent Stephen Adderley and a team of police officers, as well as the Chief Immigration Officer, Shema Darling, traveled to the south of the island where they conducted in vain research activities. The HMBS Royal Bahamas Defense Force was requested to conduct aerial and maritime searches.

Tuesday night around 9pm the US Coast Guard aircraft finally located the boat. The HMBS "Cascarilla" vessel went into the area and intercepted the boat in the night, about 16 nautical miles southwest of "Governor's Harbor", 89 undocumented Haitian immigrants were on board.

The Defense Forces reported that they have intensified their surveillance and patrol efforts in the South Bahamas as a gateway for most illegal activities. Since the beginning of the year, 201 migrants have been apprehended in two consecutive interceptions near Inagua on March 11 https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-23821-haiti-bahamas-201-haitian-boat-people-intercepted-and-repatriated-to-the-country.html 70 others were arrested off Long Island in January and more than 20 were arrested after arriving at Marshall Road.

Eleuthera's immigration authorities also reported that Wednesday morning, a small boat in distress near Half Moon Cay, was intercepted with two Haitian nationals aboard.

See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-23821-haiti-bahamas-201-haitian-boat-people-intercepted-and-repatriated-to-the-country.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-23661-haiti-politic-fruitful-conversation-between-president-moise-and-the-prime-minister-of-the-bahamas.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-23364-haiti-bahamas-70-haitian-boat-people-intercepted-off-long-island.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-23141-haiti-bahamas-76-haitian-boat-people-intercepted-at-sea.html

https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-23124-icihaiti-bahamas-114-haitians-repatriated-at-the-cost-of-$40-000.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-23112-haiti-social-interception-of-87-haitian-migrants-off-the-bahamas.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-22417-haiti-flash-tens-of-thousands-of-haitians-threatened-with-deportation-in-the-bahamas.html

SL/ HaitiLibre