Tag: migrants

2 Killed as Greek Police Chase Stolen Car Carrying Migrants

THESSALONIKI, Greece—Two people, one believed to be a migrant and the other the alleged trafficker, died Saturday in northern Greece while trying to evade a police checkpoint, police in the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki said. Twelve more people riding in the passenger car were injured, with the most serious injuries suffered by those stashed…


11 Dead, 31 Rescued After Boat Capsizes Near Puerto Rico

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico—A boat loaded with suspected migrants capsized north of an uninhabited island near Puerto Rico and 11 people had been confirmed dead while 31 others were rescued Thursday, authorities said. It wasn’t immediately clear how many people were aboard the boat when it turned over, said U.S. Coast Guard spokesman Ricardo Castrodad….


English Channel People-Smuggling ‘Kingpin’ Facing Extradition to Belgium

A suspected “kingpin” of people-smuggling operations across the English Channel has been arrested and is facing extradition. Iranian Hewa Rahimpur was detained by officers in east London on Wednesday afternoon, the National Crime Agency (NCA) said. The 29-year-old, who was living in Ilford, is wanted by authorities in Belgium, “where he is suspected of being…


Mercy Works of Texas Says ‘US Border Guards Need Affirmation’

Who thinks of showing appreciation to southern U.S. Border Guards as they grapple with a flood of immigrants overwhelming their efforts? Beth Knox of Mercy Works in Garden Valley, Texas, and a team of like-minded souls did, distributing 600 “Border Patrol appreciation packs” worth more than $15,000 to two different units near McAllen, Texas, on…


Death Toll From Migrant Shipwreck Off Tunisia Rises to 17

TUNIS—The death toll from a migrant shipwreck off Tunisia on Friday has risen to 17 people, most of them Syrians, as they tried to cross the Mediterranean to Italy, a civil protection official told Reuters on Saturday. He said the coastguard recovered five bodies on Saturday, after finding 12 on Friday. A search was still…


Boat Carrying Haitian Migrants Grounds Off the Florida Keys

KEY LARGO, Fla.—A wooden boat carrying hundreds of Haitian migrants in a suspected human smuggling operation ran aground in shallow water in the Florida Keys, where 163 people swam ashore and many needed medical attention, federal authorities said. The boat teeming with people listed sharply to its side near Ocean Reef Club in Key Largo,…


At Least 9 Migrants Drown, 9 Rescued Off Tunisian Coast

TUNIS, Tunisia—At least nine migrants died after their boat capsized off the Tunisian coast, the Tunisian defense ministry said Tuesday. The bodies were recovered by the country’s coast guards while two units of the Navy rescued nine other migrants, including some in critical condition. They were from varying African nations, it said. The statement did…


US Returns 40 Migrants to Cuba After Intercepting Two Vessels

MIAMI—The U.S. Coast Guard on Friday said it has returned 40 people to Cuba after intercepting two vessels near Florida while two people were being investigated for human smuggling. The vessels were spotted near the Florida Keys on Jan. 23 and on Jan. 25. Two suspected smugglers were transferred to Homeland Security Investigations, a Coast…


Puerto Rico: Makeshift Boat With Suspected Migrants Capsizes

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico—Federal authorities detained 17 Dominican migrants on Friday after their boat capsized near Puerto Rico’s northwest coast in the pre-dawn hours, with the U.S. Coast Guard searching for an estimated 10 others still missing. Jeffrey Quiñones, a Customs and Border Patrol spokesman, told The Associated Press that those detained told officials that…


Spain Rescues 319 Migrants at Sea, 18 More Feared Drowned

MADRID—Emergency services on Spain’s Canary Islands say 319 people, including 59 women and 24 children, were rescued from seven different boats trying to reach the archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, while activists say at least 18 migrants have died. Spanish rescue vessels reached the boats in different locations late Tuesday and early Wednesday, a Maritime…