The Coast Guard found only three survivors

March 7, 1999
Web posted at: 2:46 p.m. EST (1946 GMT)

MIAMI (CNN) -- The U.S. Coast Guard on Sunday called off the search for as many as 40 Haitians lost off Florida's Atlantic coast after two boats carrying them sank early Saturday.

Three people were rescued Saturday, and one of them said that 18 passengers had been on one boat and as many as 25 were on a second boat.

"Investigators believe with the number of people on board the boats, the time of night they were coming into U.S. waters, they are pretty certain this was a smuggling operation," said Coast Guard Petty Officer Jeff Hall.

The waters were calm Saturday morning, but the boats encountered trouble due to their heavy loads, the Coast Guard said.

"One boat needed help, we think, so the other one went over to help it," Hall said. "But ... both were way overloaded and were overrun by waves over the sides."

Rescuers found the three survivors Saturday. Only two bodies have been recovered and Coast Guard officials said the remaining passengers are presumed dead.

Coast Guard Lt. Paul Baker said the three survivors were men, and one was hospitalized overnight. They are now in the custody of U.S. Border Patrol officials.

Haitians are usually repatriated if found in U.S. waters, but Coast Guard officials say the Border Patrol makes its decisions on a case-by-case basis.

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