(EFE) .- The US Coast Guard, with the help of a tanker, rescued 19 Cubans who were shipwrecked near the coast of the Florida Keys in the late 2021, the institution reported.
The group of 19 Cubans were shipwrecked about 33 miles southeast of the Alligator Reef lighthouse, near Islamorada, in the south Florida island chain, and were assisted by the Methoni tanker, the Coast Guard said in a statement.
The Methoni crew sent a lifeboat to rescue the Cubans who were in the water after their boat capsized, after which they contacted the coast guard station in Key West.
The remaining 18 Cubans boarded a coast guard boat and are expected to be returned to their country of origin, the institution reported.
According to the Coast Guard, one of the Cubans “required a higher level of medical attention” and had to be transferred by helicopter to the ground, where he was treated and later transferred to a hospital on the island of Marathon.
The remaining 18 Cubans boarded a coast guard boat and are expected to be returned to their country of origin, the institution reported.
“We are very grateful to the Methoni crew for rescuing everyone from the water and promptly notifying us,” Officer Paul Altieri of the Coast Guard’s Key West Sector Command Center said in the statement.
The rescue of the 19 Cubans comes after this institution deported on Thursday 33 Cubans who tried to reach the coasts illegally of the country and were intercepted in four operations carried out in the Florida Keys.
Since October 1, 2021, the Coast Guard has intercepted 938 Cubans at sea, more than the total of 838 since the same date last year and well above the 49 in fiscal year 2020.
________________________
Collaborate with our work:
The team of 14ymedio He is committed to doing serious journalism that reflects the reality of deep Cuba. Thank you for joining us on this long road. We invite you to continue supporting us, but this time becoming a member of our journal. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.
