As Hurricane Ian‘s strong winds and storm surge pounded Florida’s west coast, officials searched for migrants stranded at sea after a boat sank Wednesday near Stock Island, about 4 miles north of Key West.
Four Cuban migrants who were aboard the boat swam to shore on Stock Island, Border Patrol Miami Sector’s Chief Patrol Agent Walter N. Slosar said in Tweet on Wednesday. On Thursday, an additional five Cuban migrants were rescued, Slosar said.
A dozen or more are still missing.
U.S. Coast Guard Southeast officials said in a Tweet shortly before 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday that three of the people who were missing were rescued 2 miles south of Boca Chica. They were hospitalized and treated for exhaustion and dehydration.
Petty Officer Nicole Groll, a spokesperson for Coast Guard District Seven, said officials were still searching for the others. Border Patrol agents detained the migrants who came ashore about 7:30 a.m. and told officials about the others who had been stranded in the water.
Groll said officials are searching all over the Stock Island area for those missing, “but the chances of them still being alive are not good.”
On Tuesday, seven Cuban nationals were detained after a rustic vessel made landfall in Pompano Beach, Slosar said in a Tweet.
Ian made landfall near Fort Myers shortly after 3 p.m. Wednesday as a powerful Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 150 mph, slightly below the wind speeds to be considered a Category 5.
Angie DiMichele can be reached at adimichele@sunsentinel.com. Follow her on Twitter @angdimi
