Turks and Caicos police begin 4th day of search for survivors from Haitian shipwreck

August 14th, 2009 Britain imposes direct rule on Turks and CaicosLONDON — Britain on Friday imposed direct rule on its former colony of Turks and Caicos following corruption claims against the territory's authorities. The British government said it had suspended the government and legislature and put the London-appointed governor in direct charge of the islands about 500 miles (800 kiometers) southeast of Florida.

August 1st, 2009 Hard times in Haiti mean many risk lives at seaLIMONADE, Haiti — When Alix Charles slipped out of his tin-roofed shack at night, he didn't say where he was going, only that he would be back soon. The 23-year-old father of two infant daughters left on a treacherous ocean voyage that turned deadly for at least 15 migrants and perhaps dozens more.

July 31st, 2009 Turks and Caicos police probe Haitian smugglingPROVIDENCIALES, Turks and Caicos — Police in the Turks and Caicos Islands are questioning Haitian survivors from a capsized migrant vessel in hopes of identifying those responsible for the smuggling operation. Deputy police commissioner Hubert Hughes says the survivors remaining in the British territory will not be sent back to Haiti until the interviews are completed, possibly this weekend.

July 31st, 2009 Anxious wait in Haiti for survivors of capsizingCAP HAITIEN, Haiti — Dozens of anxious Haitians waited at an airport Thursday to learn whether family members were among the survivors of a sailboat packed with migrants that struck a coral reef and broke apart, killing at least 15 people and leaving dozens missing. Relatives of the migrants and a few repatriated survivors stood for hours in the tropical sun at the airport in Cap Haitien, including one woman who carried a photo of her 18-year-old son.

July 30th, 2009 Haitians risk tragedy on sea excursions to AmericaMIAMI — The tragedies happen with alarming regularity in the waters near Florida: Haitian immigrants seeking a better life pay hundreds, if not thousands, to crowd onto filthy, rickety boats with little food or water. The vessels run aground and break up on jagged reefs, or capsize during the difficult multi-day voyage, leaving many migrants to spend their final moments in the very seas they had hoped would carry them to a fresh start.

July 30th, 2009 Shipwrecked Haitians tell of ordeal as search endsPROVIDENCIALES, Turks and Caicos — The young man was weak and alone when searchers found him on an uninhabited island shortly before authorities ended the hunt for victims of the sinking of a rickety sailboat crowded with people fleeing Haiti's poverty. Fifteen migrants were confirmed dead, 118 were rescued and about 70 others remained missing when the U.S.

July 29th, 2009 PROVIDENCIALES, Turks and Caicos — Search teams waited anxiously for daylight Wednesday to resume the hunt for nearly 70 Haitians missing after a handmade wooden sailboat splintered on a reef and spilled nearly 200 poor migrants into rough seas. More than 100 survivors who clung to wreckage or razor-sharp reefs for hours in the waters off the Turks and Caicos Islands were plucked out by rescue boats Monday night and Tuesday — five managed to swim 2 miles (3 kilometers) to shore.

July 29th, 2009 Shipwrecked Haitian: Those who couldn't swim, diedCAP-HAITIEN, Haiti — There was no warning when the overloaded sailboat plowed into a coral reef and began to break apart. In the darkness, some 200 migrants were plunged into the water, grabbing desperately at anything that might help keep them afloat.

July 29th, 2009 Hopes dim for missing Haitian shipwreck victimsPROVIDENCIALES, Turks and Caicos — Rescue teams scanned the clear blue waters off the Turks and Caicos Islands Wednesday with fading hopes of finding dozens of Haitian migrants whose sailboat struck a reef and shattered in the waves. Authorities have rescued more than 100 people, some clinging to the sharp reefs that surround the Atlantic archipelago, but "the more time the human body spends in the water, the opportunity for survival grows less," said U.S.

July 28th, 2009 Vessel carrying as many as 200 Haitians capsizesPROVIDENCIALES, Turks and Caicos — A vessel carrying as many as 200 Haitian migrants capsized and sank near the Turks and Caicos Islands on Monday, the U.S. Coast Guard said.

July 28th, 2009 Haitian boat capsizes; 113 saved, dozens missingPROVIDENCIALES, Turks and Caicos — The U.S. Coast Guard used boats, airplanes and a helicopter to search the warm, shallow waters off the Turks and Caicos Islands on Tuesday for some 70 Haitians believed missing after their overloaded sailboat capsized.

July 28th, 2009 Boat with Haitians capsizes, 113 saved, 85 missing PROVIDENCIALES, Turks and Caicos — An overloaded sailboat carrying Haitian migrants sank off the Turks and Caicos Islands and as many as 85 people are missing, the U.S. Coast Guard said Tuesday.

July 28th, 2009 Dozens missing after Haitian boat sinks; 15 deadPROVIDENCIALES, Turks and Caicos — Rescuers searched by sea and air Tuesday for nearly 70 Haitians after an overloaded sailboat ran aground and capsized in reef-studded waters off the Turks and Caicos Islands, killing at least 15 migrants fleeing the poverty of their homeland. The boat was carrying an estimated 200 people — men, women and teenagers — when it struck a coral reef and broke apart in rough seas near West Caicos, part of an archipelago that has proven to be deadly for Haitians in rickety vessels.

May 9th, 2009 Angry protests in Haiti over slaying of countrymanPETIONVILLE, Haiti — Angry demonstrators hurled stones and tore down a sign at the Dominican Republic's consulate in Haiti on Friday to protest the decapitation slaying of a Haitian in Santo Domingo. Some 150 protesters massed outside the walled consulate, but Haitian police prevented them from entering the compound.

May 6th, 2009 Haitian migrant decapitated in Dominican RepublicSANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic — Dominican police are investigating the decapitation of a migrant from neighboring Haiti. Police Maj. Jose Llubres says the victim's body was found Saturday in the Buenos Aires neighborhood of the capital, Santo Domingo.