CAP-HAÏTIEN, HAITI – At least 40 migrants perished and several others sustained injuries after a boat they were traveling in caught fire off Haiti’s northern coast, a United Nations agency reported Friday. The migrants were attempting to reach the Turks and Caicos Islands, according to a government official.
The U.N.’s International Organization for Migration (IOM) confirmed that the Haitian Coast Guard managed to rescue 41 survivors, with 11 of them requiring hospitalization, some due to burns.
Tragically, the boat’s captain was among the deceased, noted Arnold Jean, a spokesperson for the police in Cap-Haïtien. The vessel, which had departed from the port of Labadee on Wednesday, was carrying over 80 people on a 150-mile journey to the Turks and Caicos Islands.
Authorities believe the fire ignited when two drums of gasoline caught fire, said Jean Henry-Petit, a Civil Protection official. Witnesses reported that passengers were consuming rum and whiskey, which may have exacerbated the situation by coming into contact with the flammable substance.
The incident underscores the desperate measures many Haitians are taking to escape the dire conditions in their homeland. Gregoire Goodstein, IOM’s chief of mission in Haiti, emphasized the extreme measures people resort to due to escalating violence and economic hardship.
In response to the escalating crisis, hundreds of Kenyan police officers have been deployed to Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, as part of an international effort to restore stability. Criminal gangs now control 80 percent of the capital, subjecting residents to murder, rape, theft, and kidnapping.
The Haitian Coast Guard has observed a surge in boat departures since February 29, with countries such as the United States, the Bahamas, the Turks and Caicos Islands, and Jamaica intercepting an increasing number of vessels. Last month, U.S. Border Patrol agents encountered 118 Haitian migrants who had come ashore in Key West, Florida.
The IOM reported that more than 86,000 migrants have been deported to Haiti by neighboring countries this year. Additionally, over 578,000 people were internally displaced across Haiti last month, marking a 60% increase since March.
“The ongoing crisis in Haiti is driving more people to leave their homes and everything behind,” said Philippe Branchat, head of the IOM in Haiti. “This is not a decision taken lightly, and for many, it is not their first time fleeing.”