BOCA RATON, Fla. (AP) — Thirty-three suspected Cuban migrants have been rescued off the coast of Florida after their vessel began taking on water.
The U.S. Coast Guard reports they were found Wednesday morning seven miles east of Boca Raton. A Coast Guard aircraft was searching for two men who remain missing from a raft carrying 13 migrants found Monday when the vessel was spotted.
Officials say the vessel was "grossly overloaded" and the migrants jumped into the water after it began taking on water. All are believed to be accounted for.
Officials had no immediate information on where they'll be taken.
There's been a significant increase in the number of Cubans attempting to reach the U.S. by sea. At least 3,722 were intercepted at sea or made it to shore in the last fiscal year, a 75 percent increase.
