More than half a million Haitians have been internally displaced by gang violence that killed hundreds this year.
At least 40 Haitians have been killed at sea and several people were injured after their boat caught fire, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said.
The boat, which was carrying more than 80 people, departed from Fort Saint-Michel in northern Haiti on Wednesday for the Turks and Caicos islands, a 250km (155-mile) journey, the IOM said on Friday, citing the country’s migration authority.
The boat caught fire off the coast of Cap-Haitien in Haiti’s north, according to the United Nations migration agency, which said 41 people were rescued by the Haitian coastguard. Eleven people were being treated for injuries, including burns.
People on the boat used matches to light candles in a ritual to ask for safe passage, leading gasoline-filled drums to catch fire and explode, Jean-Henry Petit, who heads the civil protection office in northern Haiti, told the Miami Herald newspaper.
“This devastating event highlights the risks faced by children, women, and men migrating through irregular routes, demonstrating the crucial need for safe and legal pathways for migration,” said Gregoire Goodstein, IOM’s chief in the country.
Haiti has, for years, been roiled by violence with armed gangs fighting for control of territory. In February, gangs launched coordinated attacks in the capital, Port-au-Prince, taking control of police stations and key access roads, opening fire at the main airport, and forcing tens of thousands of people to flee.
More than 570,000 Haitians have been internally displaced as a result of the violence, according to the UN.
“Haiti’s socioeconomic situation is in agony. The extreme violence over the past months has only brought Haitians to resort to desperate measures even more,” said Goodstein.
Several hundred Kenyan police officers have arrived in Haiti as part of a UN-mandated mission to help police in the Caribbean nation fight the gangs.
The IOM said that more than 86,000 migrants and refugees have been forcibly returned to Haiti by neighbouring countries this year. In March alone, despite a surge in violence and the closure of airports throughout the country, forced returns increased by 46 percent, reaching 13,000 people.
Since February 29, the coastguard in the north has observed an increase in the number of attempts and departures by boat. Coastguards from countries in the region, including the United States, the Bahamas, the Turks and Caicos islands, and Jamaica, have also reported a growing number of boats originating from Haiti being intercepted at sea.