More than 100 migrants rescued from overloaded vessel before it hit sand bar in Florida Keys, Coast Guard says
CNN
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More than 100 people were rescued from an overloaded vessel before it hit a sand bar in the Florida Keys, according to the US Coast Guard.
The vessel hit a sand bar off Whale Harbor, the Coast Guard Southeast said in a tweet. “There are reports of people in the water and our land partners are on scene,” the agency said. Whale Harbor is in Islamorada, in the Upper Florida Keys.
The rescue efforts are still ongoing for anyone who might be in the water.
The Coast Guard did not know how many migrants were on the overloaded vessel or their nationality, and told CNN that they are dealing with rough conditions.
Rescue crews have been facing 6- to 10-foot seas and winds of 25 miles per hour as they try to safely remove passengers, according to an earlier tweet from the agency.
The rescue operations began this morning when a good Samaritan reported the vessel to the Key West watchstanders at 5 a.m., the Coast Guard said in a tweet.
On Sunday, the Coast Guard said at least five people died after a homemade vessel capsized near Florida’s Little Torch Key. Nine people were rescued from the vessel, according to the agency.
