An improvised vessel carrying about 60 people sank near Mona Island, Puerto Rico, resulting in a provisional toll of two dead and 40 survivors rescued, while authorities continued the search for more missing persons on Monday.
The shipwreck occurred around 11:00 p.m. on Sunday, about 10 miles from Mona Island, as officially reported by the United States Coast Guard.
The survivors reported that before the shipwreck, a fight broke out on board in which several people were seriously injured with a machete. Some occupants jumped into the water and attempted to swim to Mona Island.
According to the Coast Guard, none of the individuals were wearing life jackets.
The emergency came to light around noon on Monday when the crew of the vessel Tripiti reported to the San Juan Sector of the Coast Guard that they had rescued four people from the water.
The survivors then said that around 60 people were traveling on the vessel that had capsized the night before.
Following that alert, a large-scale operation was launched that allowed for the rescue of at least 40 people and the recovery of two bodies.
The operations involve the Coast Guard Joseph Doyle, aircraft from the Borinquen and Miami Coast Guards, the Puerto Rico Police, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Air and Marine Operations units, the Dominican Republic Air Force, and personnel from the Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources.
The search was still active at the time of the last report, so there may still be missing persons at sea.
The authorities did not specify the nationality of those on board the vessel.
El Paso de la Mona, which separates Puerto Rico from the Dominican Republic, is frequently used in irregular migration crossings to U.S. territory and is known for its challenging navigation conditions.
The Coast Guard maintains constant operations in this area. At the beginning of September, the Joseph Doyle repatriated 51 migrants to the Dominican Republic after intercepting another vessel near Puerto Rico.
In August, another 16 Dominican migrants were repatriated after being intercepted on an overloaded vessel.
The operations are part of Vigilant Sentry, the U.S. inter-agency effort aimed, among other objectives, at responding to irregular maritime migration in the Caribbean.
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