A Carnival cruise ship veered off course to rescue 27 Cuban migrants stranded on a rickety wooden boat in waters between the states of Florida, according to reports.
The Carnival Paradise had just set sail from Tampa when it spotted the desperate U.S.-bound migrants about 32 miles off the coast of Cuba.
The ship set a course to intercept the dilapidated ship and the rescue took place in international waters around 2:30pm on Sunday. Fox News reported.
The cruise ship was heading to the Honduras island of Roatan when it spotted the Cubans.
All 27 people were taken aboard the ship, fed, and underwent medical examinations.
Carnival’s crew alerted the U.S. Coast Guard and Roatan officials.
Earlier this month, the U.S. Coast Guard seized a battered homemade boat off the coast of Key West and returned all 16 migrants on board to Cuba, officials said.
The barely seaworthy vessel – a small wooden boat with the bow and the rest made of foam – was discovered by a eagle-eyed good Samaritan and intercepted by a Coast Guard cutter on April 7th. Picked up by Charles David Jr. According to the press release.
The migrants were placed on a cutter and transported back to Cuba, the Coast Guard said.
