The Coast Guard is looking for 23 Cuban migrants who disappeared after the passage of Hurricane 'Ian'

The coast guard is looking for a boat with 23 Cuban immigrants who disappeared this Wednesday in the waters of the Florida Keys, as announced on his Twitter by Walter N. Solosar, a United States Border Patrol agent.

The boat was covering its reckless journey in the middle of Hurricane

, which made landfall in Florida in the early afternoon.

Four of its passengers have been able to save their lives by swimming to the coast of Stock Island, east of Key West, according to US authorities.

The conditions in which the survivors are found are unclear.

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Hurricane 'Ian', latest news, live

Ian

has entered the western coast of the peninsula, painting a southwest-northwest trajectory with sustained winds of 155 miles per hour (about 250 kilometers per hour), according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC).

It borders on category 5, the most dangerous, and threatens to leave behind a catastrophic trail of rains, floods and destruction.

The meteorological phenomenon had left the island of Cuba at dawn, where it caused two deaths and a total blackout.

More than 11 million Cubans have been left without electricity after the electrical collapse.

#BREAKING: US Border Patrol agents along with support from @mcsonews responded to a migrant landing in Stock Island #Florida.

4 Cuban migrants swam to shore after their vessel sank due to inclement weather.

@USCGSoutheast initiated a #SAR operation to search for 23 individuals.

pic.twitter.com/yUurGfSOSe

— Chief Patrol Agent Walter N. Slosar (@USBPChiefMIP) September 28, 2022

Slosar recalled in another tweet that seven Cubans arrived in Pompano Beach (in southeastern Florida) on Tuesday.

The message was accompanied by an image of the precarious barge in which they made their trip.

He also issued a warning: “Do not risk throwing yourself into the sea.

Storm surge coupled with king tide can create treacherous conditions even after the storm has passed."

According to data from local authorities, the United States has repatriated 6,052 Cubans so far this year after being intercepted by sea.

Another 64 lost their lives in the waters that separate the two countries.

At the beginning of 2022, the 40 immigrants who were traveling aboard an eight-meter-long canoe lost their lives, minus one.

They set out from Bimini, a chain of islands in the Bahamas about 55 miles (88 kilometers) east of Miami.

A storm surprised them during the journey and a private boat spotted the figure of a man on the skeleton of a boat about 70 kilometers from the port of Fort Pierce, Florida.

The Coast Guard then launched a search for the rest of the passengers in an area of ​​​​approximately 135 miles (218 kilometers).

There was no luck and the authorities closed the search without finding more survivors.

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