At Least 11 Die as Migrant Boat Capsizes Near Puerto Rico, US Says

At least 11 people died and 31 others were rescued on Thursday after a boat carrying migrants capsized about 10 miles north of Desecheo Island, P.R., the U.S. Coast Guard said.

The agency said that the crew of a Customs and Border Protection aircraft sighted a capsized vessel shortly before noon. The crew reported people in the water who did not appear to be wearing life jackets, the Coast Guard said.

The Coast Guard said the vessel was “suspected of taking part in an illegal voyage.”

Most of the people on the boat were from Haiti, but two of the survivors were from the Dominican Republic, said Jeffrey Quiñones, a spokesman for U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The boat set off from the Dominican Republic and was en route across the treacherous Mona Passage to the western side of Puerto Rico, he said.

Mr. Quiñones said that, based on accounts from the migrants, the boat was taking on water and the occupants were trying to shovel water from the boat. He said this was not uncommon for such voyages because the boats are often “unseaworthy.”

“It appears that the boat broke because it’s not a boat that’s made for such a voyage,” Mr. Quiñones said. “With a lot of people inside the boat, of course, this could happen.”

A Coast Guard spokesman said Thursday night that the agency was still searching for survivors and did not know how many people had been on the boat. The search was expected to continue through the night.