At least 40 Migrants Killed As Boat Catches Fire Off Haiti's Coast

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported that at least 40 migrants have died and several others were injured after the boat they were traveling on caught fire off the northern coast of Haiti. The United Nations agency, citing local authorities, said that 41 migrants who were aboard were rescued by the Haitian Coast Guard.

According to the IOM, the boat was carrying over 80 people and was travelling from Fort Saint-Michel to the Turks and Caicos Islands. The agency said that eleven migrants were taken to the nearest hospital for treatment, including burns. Grégoire Goodstein, IOM’s chief of mission in Haiti, said in a statement that the incident highlights the risks faced by children, women, and men migrating through irregular routes. "Haiti’s socio-economic situation is in agony. The extreme violence over the past months has only brought Haitians to resort to desperate measures even more," the head of agency added.

The Caribbean nation has witnessed a wave of gang violence in recent times. The first quarter of this year was the deadliest for Haitians, as around 2,500 people were reportedly killed or injured in gang violence. At the same time, hundreds of Kenyan police officers have arrived in the country under a UN-backed mission to address the gang violence. According to the New York Times, the main aim of the deployment is to retake control of Haiti's main port and free major highways from criminal groups.