Every year, Haitians by the hundreds set off in rickety boats hoping to escape poverty by sneaking into the United States. The perils became gruesomely apparent Friday when a crowded boat capsized, flinging migrants into shark-infested waters.Hours after the sailing vessel overturned in moonlit waters a half-mile from shore, rescuers had recovered more than a dozen bodies -- some with savage bite wounds -- and were searching for about 60 missing people.
The Turks and Caicos government said the boat was carrying some 160 people and that 78 survivors -- 69 males and 9 females -- were rescued. Police have recovered 16 bodies, those of 13 females and three males, the government said.
Some survivors were spotted by a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter clinging to the hull of their overturned vessel, said Petty Officer Third Class Barry Bena. The chopper guided in a boat to get them. A Coast Guard cutter and a C-130 plane also were dispatched to join the search.
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