Two cruise lines rescued 20 people on a small boat on Monday, a cruise official told ABC News.
The crew of the Fort Lauderdale-bound Celebrity Beyond rescued 19 people from the boat on Monday, providing food, shelter and medical services, captain Kate McCue said in a video posted to Instagram on Tuesday. rice field.
“We are grateful to the crew for their prompt action and the lives saved as a result,” Celebrity Cruises told ABC News in a statement.
In addition, the Carnival Celebration crew noticed five people stuck about 29 miles northwest of Cuba and stopped to help them, company spokesman Matt Lupoli told ABC News in a statement. Told.
The crew contacted the U.S. Coast Guard and rendezvoused near Key West, Florida.
A group of Cuban immigrants stand in the sun by the side of US 1 on Middle Keys Island in Duck Key, Florida, January 2, 2023.
Miami Herald via AP
“The ship then resumed sailing without affecting its scheduled itinerary, and Carnival celebrations returned to Miami on Tuesday morning after a week-long Caribbean cruise,” Lupoli said. .
The Coast Guard did not respond to a request for comment.
The rescue came on the same day that Dry Tortugas National Park in the Florida Keys announced Monday. This is due to the closure of operations at the park there due to the influx of immigrants who have landed in the past few days.
“The Homeland Security Task Force – Southeast is aware of multiple migrant landfalls in Dry Tortugas National Park and the Marquesas this weekend. , and local components are currently coordinating efforts to recover individuals stranded on remote, uninhabited islands,” said Commander, 7th Coast Guard Division and director of the Homeland Security Task Force. Maj. Gen. Brendan C. McPherson said in a statement.
Dry Tortugas is a 100-square-mile park located 70 miles west of Key West, Florida. It consists of seven small islands and is accessible only by boat or seaplane.
Armando Garcia of ABC News contributed to this report.
