22 rescued after Cuban migrant boat capsizes

A migrant-smuggling boat on a night run from Cuba to the US capsized in rough seas, dumping more than two dozen people in the water, the US Coastguard said.

Twenty-two Cubans - four of them children and one a man who said he had been swimming for half a day - were rescued by coastguard cutters or other ships assisting in the search.

The body of one man was recovered and as many as six people were missing, said coastguard spokesman Jamie Frederick.

Two other speedboats were found nearby, but it was not immediately clear if they were connected to the smuggling run.

One of the boats was found capsized within a mile of the migrant smuggling boat.

The second boat was found swamped within 10 miles of the search area and appeared to have been involved in drug smuggling, Lieutenant Commander Ron LaBrec said.

Three coastguard cutters and two helicopters searched the waters for the missing, who may have included two children.

The survivors were first spotted 17 miles southeast of Key West in Florida by crew members of the coastal freighter Claudia C, who heard the migrants screaming for help at about 4am local time. The ship alerted the coastguard and began its rescue operations on its own.

The Claudia C pulled 14 people out of the water before two cutters arrived on the scene and rescued others.

One cutter, the Seneca, found two people still clinging to the capsized boat. The cutter Metompkin rescued five people and recovered the body.

A 23-year-old man was rescued this afternoon by the crew of a Texas A&M University research vessel. He said he had been in the water since 3am.

Coastguard spokesman Luis Diaz in Miami said the smugglers may be among those rescued, but have not been identified.

The coastguard said they believed the Cubans were brought across the Florida Straits by smugglers because it fit the profile of previous smuggling operations.

Lt Cmdr LaBrec said: ‘‘It’s a small speedboat with more than two dozen people on board travelling at night.’’

The future of those rescued was unclear. The coastguard said that Immigration and Naturalisation Service officials were heading to the site to interview the survivors.

Cubans who make it to shore in the US are generally allowed to stay while those caught at sea are sent back.

Thunderstorms with 20mph wind gusts hampered the search for the others.

There was no immediate comment from the Cuban government about the incident.

In the past, Havana has accused Washington of not doing enough to stop illegal immigrant smuggling between Cuba and the US.

It also has blamed US immigration policies for the practice, saying that Cubans are willing to undertake the risky voyage knowing that they will be allowed to stay if they reach US shores.