88 Haitian migrants rescued by Coast Guard and Royal Bahamas Defense Force

The U.S. Coast Guard says it rescued 88 Haitian migrants last week off the Bahamian island of Little Inagua in a joint effort with the Royal Bahamas Defense Force.

After a Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew out of Air Station Clearwater spotted the migrants, the crew took 15 migrants needing medical attention to Matthew Town. The Royal Bahamas Defense Force took the remaining 73 migrants to Great Inagua.

Capt. Aldante Vinciguerra, the Coast Guard’s Seventh District chief of response, said in a statement, “Illegal migration ventures, such as these, all too often end tragically. Thankfully our Coast Guard and RBDF crews were able to locate and perform this rescue seamlessly.”

This story was originally published July 25, 2017 at 9:04 AM with the headline "88 Haitian migrants rescued by Coast Guard and Royal Bahamas Defense Force."