- Author, George Wright
- Role, BBC News
At least 40 migrants have died after the boat they were travelling in caught fire off the northern coast of Haiti, a United Nations agency said.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) says 41 other people were rescued by the Haitian coast guard.
The ship was heading from Cap-Haïtien to the Turks and Caicos Islands, more than 220 km (137 miles) away, the IOM said.
The exact cause of the fire is not yet clear, but a local official told Reuters that people on board the boat were lighting candles in a ritual to ask for safe passage, which caused canisters filled with gasoline to catch fire.
The injured are receiving treatment from IOM, and 11 of them have been transported to the nearest hospital, the agency said.
Tens of thousands of people flee Haiti every year, fleeing poverty, lawlessness and gang violence in their country.
Grégoire Goodstein, IOM Chief of Mission in Haiti, said: “This devastating event highlights the risks faced by children, women and men who migrate through irregular routes, demonstrating the critical need for safe and legal migration pathways.
“The socio-economic situation in Haiti is dire. The extreme violence of recent months has only led Haitians to resort to even more desperate measures.”
Lack of economic opportunities, a collapsing health system and school closures are pushing many people to consider migration as the only way to survive, according to IOM.
According to UN data, gang violence killed or injured an average of more than one person every hour in the first three months of this year.
More than 86,000 migrants have been forcibly returned to Haiti by neighboring countries this year, despite rising violence, according to the IOM.
The Caribbean nation has seen an escalation of violence following the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse three years ago.
Hundreds of Kenyan police officers arrived in Haiti this month as part of a mission to help Haitian police fight gangs.
