At least 40 migrants died in a boat accident off the coast of Haiti, but 41 were rescued. The UN organization IOM is calling for safe migration routes for people from the Caribbean state.
A boat with more than 80 migrants on board caught fire off the coast of Haiti. At least 40 people were killed, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said.
Haiti's coast guard was able to rescue 41 survivors, eleven of whom were taken to a hospital. According to the information, the boat was on its way from the northern Haitian city of Cap-Haïtien to the Turks and Caicos Islands, around 250 kilometers away, on Wednesday.
Local media reported that survivors said gasoline was probably ignited by a candle used for a voodoo ritual on the boat.
People escape hunger and chaos
Haiti is experiencing a serious security and humanitarian crisis as well as political chaos. Around half of the Caribbean state's eleven million inhabitants are suffering from acute hunger. President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated around three years ago and has not yet been replaced.
Heavily armed gangs have largely controlled the capital Port-au-Prince. Their violence has displaced more than half a million Haitians within their own country. Several hundred Kenyan police officers have recently been deployed in Haiti as part of a multinational security mission against the gangs.
IOM: Haitians need safe Migration routes
The disaster shows the urgent need for safe and legal migration routes for Haitians, said the Haiti chief of the UN organization IOM, Grégoire Goodstein. According to the statement, more than 86,000 migrants have already been deported there this year despite the situation in Haiti.
