PORT-AU-PRINCE, 20th July, 2024 (WAM) – At least 40 migrants have died after the boat they were travelling in caught fire off the northern coast of Haiti, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) said.
According to the IOM, 41 others were rescued by the Haitian Coast Guard.
The vessel, carrrying more than 80 people, was travelling from Cap-Haitien to the Turks and Caicos Islands, more than 220km (137 miles) away, the IOM said.
The exact cause of the fire is not yet clear, but a local official told Reuters that people on the boat were lighting candles in a ritual to ask for safe passage, leading gasoline-filled drums to catch fire.