Haiti - FLASH : Shipwreck off Grosse Pointe at least 39 victims
On the night from Friday October 29 to Saturday October 30, 2021, a small overloaded boat providing the Marigot/Anse-à-Pitres transport, carrying cement, food products, fuel and a large number of passengers wrecked off the coast of the locality of Grosse Pointe in the South-East department.
According to the South-East Civil Protection Directorate, the provisional toll would be 20 survivors and at least 19 dead. Marigot's interim executive agent, René Danneau, informs us that the search is continuing to find survivors.
The fuel shortage in the department prevented the rescuers of the Service Maritime et de Navigation d'Haiti (SEMANAH) from coming to the aid of the victims in time and also slowed down the search process by the authorities.
Reacting to this tragedy, Prime Minister a.i. Ariel Henry said
"We learned, in pain and with emotion, the sad news of the sinking of a boat this morning, ensuring the Anse-à-Pitre / Marigot route and which resulted in the death of 19 of our compatriots. We offer our condolences to the families of the victims and to the Haitian people. Faced with this new tragedy which has occurred in deplorable conditions, we wish to assure the families of the victims, as well as the survivors, of the full support of the Government and the local authorities."
