Cuban Authorities Rescue 18 Rafters

Cuban Authorities Rescue 18 RaftersHavana, Dec 9. – Workers of the security services SEPSA, oil workers and Ministry of the Interior troops rescued a group of 18 people that had attempted an illegal departure from Cuba on a rustic boat, an official note informed.

The event took place on Thursday morning when Cuban authorities rescued 14 men and four women that washed ashore near the Palmerajo site, in Santa Cruz del Norte Municipality, western province of Mayabeque.

According to the note, issued by Cuba´s Ministry of the Interior (Minint), a corpse of a person belonging to the group, who jumped into the sea and died trying to reach the shore, was also found.

The official note reads that all the persons were given assistance and transferred to healthcare centers in Havana and Matanzas provinces.

During preliminary investigations, these persons said that they departed from a northern site of the Artemisa province in late November as part of a group of more than 20 people, but after making it out to the sea the rustic boat was turned over by strong waves. They also said that 4 members of the group died as a consequence of the accident.

Joint forces of the Interior Ministry and the Revolutionary Armed Forces are undertaking an intense search party along the northern Cuban coast, the note explains and adds that Interior Ministry authorities are investigating the circumstances in which the event took place.(Prensa Latina)