Defence Force Marines discovered one dead person among 124 illegal immigrants aboard a boat stopped in the Exuma cays over the weekend.
While on patrol, the HMBS P-42 under the command of Petty Officer Freddy Rolle spotted a 40-foot blue-and-white Haitian vessel about 10 miles southwest of Belle Island Cay.
Inspection of the vessel revealed 124 Haitians, including 98 men and 25 women, and a corpse aboard the wooden sloop.
Because of the unsanitary conditions on the sloop, the people were taken to the Coral Harbour base on the Defence Force boat. They were weak, dehydrated and required immediate medical attention and several were taken to Princess Margaret Hospital.
The remainder were turned over to Immigration officials and taken to the Detention Centre for processing.
By Sean Inniss, The Nassau Guardian
