143 migrants on crowded boat from Haiti detained in southern Bahamas, near Ragged Island
NASSAU, Bahamas _ Authorities in the Bahamas have detained 143 migrants from Haiti on a crowded sailboat at the southern edge of the island chain.
The Royal Bahamas Defence Force says a patrol boat stopped the vessel west of Ragged Island. Among the migrants were 23 women and three children. All were taken Monday to a military base in Nassau for further investigation.
The Bahamas typically repatriates migrants who are detained at sea.
A Defence Force statement says eight Cubans were also apprehended last Wednesday in a vessel off Grand Bahama.
The force has detained nearly 1,000 migrants this year.
The Associated Press