Juan Esteban Montoya, a 22-year-old Colombian, was the only survivor of a shipwreck that took place near the coast of South Florida (USA) and has so far left five dead and 34 missing. The castaway was found on Tuesday, rescued by a commercial ship and taken to a hospital.
The ship that Juan Esteban and his 18-year-old sister boarded sailed from Bimini (The Bahamas, 80 kilometers from Florida) last Saturday bound for Miami. The purpose of the brothers was to get to Houston (Texas), where their mother lives, reunite with her and overcome the difficult economic situation they were going through in Colombia.
The boat was full of passengers, including minors, and none of them were wearing life jackets. The crew members were surprised by a storm in the middle of the sea. National Weather Service meteorologist Chuck Caracozza said the waves in a saturday night storm regarding 20 nautical miles from the coast reached more than two meters in height, with winds of 10 to 20 knots.
The boat capsized and, according to Juan Esteban’s testimony, the other people began to drown one by one. Marcia, Juan Esteban’s mother, revealed to Telemundo the conversation she had with her son. When she asked him regarding the whereregardings of his other daughter, he told her through tears that “my sister died, my sister drowned.”
According to the statement of the survivor’s lawyer, he is in a hospital in Florida, with a picture of dehydration and a deteriorated mental condition due to what he had to do during the shipwreck. The representative assured that she will manage asylum and parole for Juan Esteban, who is guarded by the immigration guard.
The Florida Coast Guard spent two days searching a 8,000-square-mile radius for survivors. During that period they found five bodies, none of which correspond to the sister of Juan Esteban. However, not having much more information to narrow down the search and given the low probability of finding more people alive at this point, they stopped looking. Therefore, the balance so far is 34 missing persons.
Marcia asked the authorities to release her son so that they can accompany each other in their loss. “Understand a mother who is devastated, broken,” she pleaded. His father, Edwin Montoya, said from Colombia that he is torn by the situation.
The proximity of the 700 Bahamas islands to the Florida coast and to the island where Haiti is (180 kilometers) make it a ideal for people smugglers into the United States.
According to the International Organization for Migration, around 5,000 Haitian immigrants work legally in the Bahamas, but between 20,000 and 50,000 of their compatriots are illegally.
On Friday, 32 people had been rescued from a capsized boat five miles west of the Bimini Islands, in another alleged “human trafficking” operation, according to the US Coast Guard and the Bahamian Armed Forces.
The increase in the number of people trying to reach the United States from the Caribbean accompanies the political turmoil in the region.
US authorities have noted an increase in migration from Cuba by sea in recent months. In July, the country was the scene of demonstrations generated by economic hardship and discontent with the government.
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