At least 40 migrants have died after their boat caught fire off Haiti’s northern coast, according to a United Nations (UN) agency.
The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) reported that the Haitian Coast Guard rescued 41 others.
The vessel was traveling from Cap-Haitien to the Turks and Caicos Islands, over 220 km (137 miles) away, the IOM stated.
The cause of the fire is unclear, but a local official told Reuters that people on the boat were lighting candles in a ritual for safe passage, which led to gasoline-filled drums catching fire.
The injured are receiving care from the IOM, with 11 taken to the nearest hospital, the agency said.
Tens of thousands flee Haiti annually, escaping poverty, lawlessness, and gang violence. Earlier this year, rival armed groups took control of Port-au-Prince, forcing Prime Minister Ariel Henry to resign weeks later.
Grégoire Goodstein, IOM’s chief of mission in Haiti, commented: “This devastating event highlights the risks faced by children, women, and men migrating through irregular routes – underscoring the crucial need for safe and legal pathways for migration.”
“Haiti’s socio-economic situation is in agony. The extreme violence over the past months has only brought Haitians to resort to desperate measures even more.”
The lack of economic opportunities, a collapsing health system, and school closures are pushing many Haitians to consider migration as their only means of survival, according to the IOM.
UN data reveals that gang violence killed or injured more than one person per hour on average in the first three months of this year.
Despite the escalating violence, over 86,000 migrants have been forcibly returned to Haiti by neighboring countries this year, the IOM reports.
Violence has surged in Haiti since the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse three years ago.
In response, hundreds of Kenyan police arrived in Haiti this month as part of a mission to assist Haitian police in combating the gangs.