Haitian migrant boat survivors treated

By TOSHEENA ROBINSON-BLAIR Associated Press Writer

NASSAU, Bahamas (AP) - Two Haitians who survived the capsizing of their migrant-laden boat were being treated for exposure Tuesday as the U.S. Coast Guard scanned the seas for other victims of the sinking that claimed as many as 22 lives.

Officials estimate that 25 people were aboard when the boat went down on Saturday as it headed for Florida. Only three have been found alive.

The bodies of 14 Haitians have been recovered, said Coast Guard spokesman Barry Bena - correcting a previous count of 20 caused by double-counting of some bodies. Chief Petty Officer Ralph McKinney of the Royal Bahamas Defense Force said the bodies were of 12 women and two men.

A Coast Guard cutter, jet and helicopter were continuing the search Tuesday.

"We can only hope if there is anyone out there, we can go ahead and rescue them," Bena said in Miami.

Jhacson Brave, of Lake Placid, Fla., fears his cousin Roselene Almonor, 31, was on the boat. She had been expected to arrive in Miami on Sunday, but "she never showed up," Brave said.

"It's tough in Haiti, there's no jobs, really," said Brave, who said he migrated in 1987.

Riots over food in Haiti killed at least seven people earlier this month, but Haitian authorities expressed doubt the voyage was related to the unrest.

Survivors described the boat as a go-fast, a kind of speed boat, suggesting the migrants had more money than others who make the perilous crossing jammed aboard makeshift vessels.

The only survivors rescued so far were two Haitians and a Honduran, allegedly the boat's skipper, who was being held by police investigating allegations of migrant smuggling.

The two migrants - a man and a woman - were transferred from a detention center to a Nassau hospital because of skin ailments caused by long exposure to sea water, said Weston Saunders, the assistant director of the detention center. He said that illegal migrants are generally deported.