Coast Guard to suspend search for migrants off Florida
Source: AP
By ADRIANA GOMEZ LICON
MIAMI BEACH, Fla. (AP) The Coast Guard said Thursday that it had found four additional bodies in its search for dozens of migrants lost at sea off Florida but would suspend its rescue operations at sunset if it doesnt receive any new information.
Homeland Security Investigations officials said they were actively investigating the case as a human smuggling operation.
Authorities have now found a total of five bodies, leaving 34 missing five days after the vessel capsized on the way to Florida from Bimini, a chain of islands in the Bahamas about 55 miles (88 kilometers) east of Miami.
Coast Guard Capt. Jo-Ann F. Burdian said the decision to suspend the search at sunset Thursday, pending any new discoveries, was not an easy one.
U.S. Coast Guard Captain Jo-Ann Burdian speaks during a news conference, Thursday, Jan. 27, 2022, at Coast Guard Sector Miami in Miami Beach, Fla. The Coast Guard says it has found four more bodies in its search for dozens of migrants lost at sea off Florida, for a total of five bodies. The maritime security agency said Thursday that it also plans to call off its active search for survivors at sunset if it doesn't receive any new information. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)
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