The U.S. Coast Guard reported the end of rescue operations on Thursday afternoon, after announcing hours earlier that it had found four more bodies in its search for dozens of migrants lost off the coast of Florida.
The Office of Homeland Security Investigations has reported that it is investigating the case as a human smuggling operation.
So far, authorities have found a total of five bodies, leaving 34 missing. five days after the vessel wrecked on its way to Florida from Bimini, an island chain in the Bahamas, about 88 kilometers (55 miles) east of Miami.
Coast Guard Captain Jo-Ann F. Burdian said prior to the suspension of the operation that the decision to end the rescue was not an easy one.
“We’ve searched the area over and over again,” she told a news conference. “We’ve had good visibility. We’ve flown over the vessel several times. That means we don’t think anyone else survived.”
The Miami Office of Homeland Security Investigations launched an investigation after asserting that the migrants’ journey was part of a human smuggling operation. Under federal law, a smuggler convicted of causing death is eligible for capital punishment.
[Con información de AP]
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