MIAMI – The U.S. Coast Guard rescued 117 Dominican migrants off the coast of the Dominican Republic on Wednesday.
Coast Guard officials said one of its aircraft spotted an overloaded boat about 20 nautical miles east of Samana Bay, and diverted one of its cutters to intercept the boat.
The 93 men and 24 woman aboard the boat were repatriated Thursday morning to La Romana Cruise Port.
"Taking to the sea in grossly overloaded vessels with no navigation and lifesaving equipment is extremely dangerous," said Senior Chief Petty Officer Daniel Capestany. "We are all fortunate that no one died and everyone was able to be safely returned to the Dominican Republic. The Coast Guard will continue to work with its international, interagency and local partners to discourage illegal and unsafe maritime migration."
Coast Guard officials said they have seen a spike in migrants taking to the sea in attempts to get into the U.S.