At
least 23 people, including two children, are feared drowned after their boat
overturned early Wednesday morning off the coast of Venezuela, the Trinidad
Express newspaper reported Thursday.
It said
that the fishing pirogue, which was carrying 35 illegal immigrants, including
women, was due to have reached an inlet along Trinidad’s south western
peninsula after a three and a half hour journey.
The
newspaper said that on nearing the Bocas Islands, the boat “Yonaili José”
encountered engine difficulty and later sank.
There
has been no official statement here regarding the incident, but the newspaper
quoted a Venezuelan woman residing here as saying that her sister, who was on
board the vessel was coming here to help her.
“My
sister was coming to Trinidad to help me. It is very bad in Venezuela. There is
no food, no hospital and people are becoming desperate,” she told the Trinidad
Express newspapers.
The
newspaper said the Venezuelan news site, Noticiera Digital, reported that 23 of
the 35 passengers were unaccounted for and that the Venezuelan coast guard had
mounted a search.
“My
sister contacted me on Tuesday and said she was leaving. I understand the
survivors contacted the other relatives and told them that the boat overturned
and some people were missing.”
Several
Venezuelan nationals have come to Trinidad to escape the economic and political
situation in the South American country where the United States is leading an
offensive to remove President Nicolas Maduro from office.
The
Trinidad and Tobago government said it had agreed to open a two-week
registration for Venezuelans to allow them an initial stay of six months in
which they can also work in the twin island republic.
