Tuesday, July 26, 2022, Keith Bell, the Minister of Immigration of the Bahamas, after a visit to the "Carmichael Road" detention center, with several psychotherapists, declared that the 25 Haitian survivors of the shipwreck on Sunday July 24, in which 17 of their compatriots died (15 women, 1 man and a girl) "are still in a state of shock" where they receive psychological support.

Authorities confirmed that at least one of the 25 survivors had a legal permit to work in the Bahamas.

William Sturrup, the Commander of the "Royal Bahamas Defense Force" clarified that 45 people were on board and not about sixty as the authorities had initially estimated "we are therefore looking for three missing."

He announced that he had changed the status of the investigation from "search and rescue" to "search and recovery" considering that it is unlikely that more people will be rescued alive, explaining that officers are helping the investigation using drones for search tasks by land and sea in an area that stretches from Blackbeard Cay to near the Berry Islands.

Sturrup believes the chances of finding survivors are minimal because it is unknown if they had floats, if they could swim, or how long they can go without food or water. So far no other bodies or objects belonging to the migrants have been found.

Three Bahamians, two of them aged 35 to 48, were arrested on suspicion of being the smugglers. Two of those arrested were traveling with the group of Haitians making the illegal trip to the United States, while the third was arrested at a residence in New Providence.

This event is the second deadliest drama in the waters of the Bahamas after the sinking in February 2019 near Abaco, one of the islands of the Atlantic archipelago https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-26837-haiti-flash-toll-rising-at-least-28-haitians-die-drowned-off-the-bahamas-update.html where 28 Haitian migrants lost their lives.

See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-37242-haiti-shipwreck-in-the-bahamas-investigation-details-and-reactions.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-37241-haiti-news-zapping.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-37234-haiti-flash-shipwreck-in-the-bahamas-16-haitians-dead-and-21-survivors-provisional-report.html

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

S/ HaitiLibre