Brazil Says 19 Migrants Feared Drowned Off Bahamas

BRASMLIA, , (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 27th Dec, 2016 ) - At least 19 Brazilian migrants are feared drowned off the Bahamas as they tried to cross illegally to the United States, officials in Brasilia said Monday.

The group went missing "during a purported crossing by sea from the Bahamas to the United States," a foreign ministry statement said. The migrants' families have not heard from them since November 6, the foreign ministry said.

"There are about 20 Brazilians (who have gone missing). So far, there is no information about their whereabouts, nor about the vessel that supposedly was going to take them to the United States," the foreign ministry added.

Brazilian media reports said there were also dozens of other migrants aboard the boat, which officials suspect went down while attempting the roughly 50-mile (80-kilometer) crossing between the Bahamas and the Florida coast.