Homeland Security has launched a „parallel“ criminal investigation alongside the search and rescue mission.
The U.S. Coast Guard announced on Thursday that more bodies were found during a search for the capsized vessel that is suspected of human smuggling. During a press briefing U.S. Coast Guard Miami Sector Captain Jo-Ann Burdian said that during a search of Florida’s Northern straits over the past 24 hours, officials found four more bodies, „[b]ringing the total to five deceased bodies we’ve recovered in our search area,“ she said. The comments by Burdian come shortly after the 25-foot capsized boat was discovered by a „good Samaritan“ Tuesday. In a statement, the U.S. Coast Guard Southeast Twitter account wrote that the individual discovered a man „clinging to a capsized vessel approximately 45 miles east of Fort Pierce Inlet.“ „The survivor reported he left Bimini, Bahamas, with 39 other people Saturday night and encountered severe weather, causing the vessel to capsize,“ the statement said.
