39 missing after boat capsizes near Florida 

Rescuers from the United States Coast Guard are searching the waters off Florida’s Atlantic coast for 39 people reported missing for several days after a boat capsized.

The boat—believed to be used for human smuggling— had left the Bahamas’ Bimini islands carrying 39 people on Saturday night.

According to Coast Guard, the people on board had not been wearing lifejackets.

On Tuesday, a Samaritan alerted the Coast Guard after rescuing a man clinging to the mostly submerged hull of the boat after it hit bad weather, the maritime security agency reported on social media.

The survivor told authorities that  

In the meantime, cutter vessels and aircraft have been deployed to search an area stretching from Bimini to Fort Pierce to find the missing.

The Coast Guard said it was treating the incident as a case of suspected human smuggling.

#BREAKING @USCG rescue crews are currently searching for 39 people after their boat reportedly capsized on Saturday night approximately 45 miles east of Fort Pierce Inlet. #SAR

More updates to follow. pic.twitter.com/iGCJ7KRjXY

— USCGSoutheast (@USCGSoutheast) January 25, 2022

The nationality of those on board is not yet known.

Migrants have long used the islands of the Bahamas as a steppingstone to reach Florida and the United States (US). Smugglers typically try to take advantage of breaks in the weather to make the crossing, but the vessels are often dangerously overloaded and prone to capsizing.

Over the years, there have been thousands of deaths at the same area.

Late Saturday, a cold front brought rough weather to the Bimini area, with 17-23 mph winds and 7-9 foot seas.

Last year in July, the US Coast Guard rescued 13 people after their boat capsized off of Key West as Tropical Storm Elsa approached.