According to the latest balance of Terez Curtis the President of the Red Cross of the island of Abaco north of the archipelago of the Bahamas where the sinking took place the record of survivors is now 19 Haitians (2 more). Medical assessment and treatment were carried out by the local health staff before being handed over to the Bahamas Immigration Officers.

According to the Red Cross, 28 dead bodies were recovered. The Bahamian and Haitian authorities are closely monitoring the situation to inform the population.

"Mrs. Mamatha Irene Ternier Minister of Haitians Living Abroad (MHAVE) learned with great difficulty the news of the sinking of a boat that caused the death of our dear compatriots, off the Abaco Islands, in the Bahamas, the Saturday, February 2, 2019.

While deploring the conditions in which they perished, the Minister advises our fellow citizens not to continue to put their lives in danger by taking risks as regrettable for them and their families.

Minister Ternier sends her most sincere sympathies to the families of the victims of this shipwreck and to the entire nation."

In addition, the Directorate of Civil Protection is working jointly with the relevant institutions and the Haitian representations in the Bahamas to clarify the number of victims and passengers on board this small sailboat.

In the diaspora, families of victims gathered at the Catholic Church of Our Lady of Haiti in Little Haiti "Knowing how precious life is and seeing that 28 lives have already been lost in such humiliating conditions is heartbreaking for all the members of the Haitian community," declared Father Reginald Jean-Mary, priest of Notre-Dame of Haiti, just before the start of the service.

See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-26837-haiti-flash-toll-rising-at-least-28-haitians-die-drowned-off-the-bahamas-update.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-26829-haiti-flash-shipwreck-off-the-islands-of-abaco-16-dead-and-15-haitian-survivors.html

SL/ HaitiLibre