ORANJESTAD – In the night from Sunday to Monday, the Coast Guard received a report from the Aruba Police Force that a landing had taken place north of Aruba.
Two individuals seeking help from locals indicated that their boat, carrying a group of undocumented individuals, had overturned at sea. Upon receiving this report, the Coast Guard immediately sent a patrol to the northern area, Father Piet.
Upon arrival at the location, the Coast Guard observed two lifeless bodies in the water. Yesterday, the helicopter from the Aruba Police Force and the Coast Guard continued the search in the area. During this search, another lifeless body at sea was detected, but authorities were unable to retrieve this body from the water.
Last night, the Coast Guard helicopter retrieved another lifeless body from the water during the sea search.
This morning, authorities pulled another lifeless body from the sea and handed it over to the Aruba Police Force for further investigation in this case. In total, four lifeless bodies have been recovered from the sea, including two women and one man. The gender of one lifeless body remains unknown.
The journey from Venezuela to Aruba is a highly perilous one: the sea is rough and unpredictable, the boats are often unseaworthy, and they typically carry too many people on board without adequate safety equipment. This poses a significant safety risk for those on board.
Bron: Curacao Chronicle