Six migrants rescued after a ship sank in Mina

Six migrants, four Cubans and two Dominicans, were rescued after their boat sank near the Puerto Rican island of Mona, the U.S. Coast Guard said Monday.

Those rescued are four men and two women, who were stranded at sea near the reef line on Mona Island on Sunday evening.

The rescue operation involved air and surface units of the Coast Guard, park rangers from the Mona Island Nature Reserve and the crew of the ferry M/F Kydon.

“These six people are very lucky to be alive,” Coast Guard Commander Gerard Wink said in a statement.

Coast Guard observers in San Juan received a call from park rangers from the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources (DRNA) on Mona Island, who heard cries of pain coming from the water.

A Coast Guard plane fired a flare to illuminate the area and found a person in the water swimming toward the island.

That lifeguard reported that there were more people in the water. The other five migrants were assisted by park rangers on Sardinera Beach.

No injuries or medical emergencies were reported, according to the Coast Guard, which announced that the transfer of migrants was being coordinated with Border Patrol agents in Puerto Rico.

From October 1, 2022 to August 31, 2023, the Coast Guard detained 1,965 migrants in Puerto Rican waters, including 1,675 Dominicans and 264 Haitians.