Bahamas: 28 Haitian migrants drown in illegal crossing Published duration 4 February 2019

image copyright HECTOR RETAMAL image caption Haiti is the poorest economy in the Caribbean

The bodies of 28 drowned Haitian migrants have been recovered off the coast of the Bahamas, officials say.

It comes after operations over the weekend by the Royal Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF) rescued 17 survivors.

A boat that had been transporting the migrants sank six miles (9.7km) off the coast of Marsh Harbour in the Abaco Islands, to the north of the country.

Haiti is the poorest country in the Caribbean and 60% of the population live on less than $2 (£1.53) a day.

Illegal attempts by Haitians to get to the Bahamas or nearby Turks and Caicos are common.

On the island of Fowl Cay, the nearest island to where the boat sank, villas at a luxury resort cost up to $4,328 a night.

In a tweet, the US embassy in Haiti warned Haitians of the threat that smuggling operations posed.

Since the beginning of 2019, 300 Haitians have been caught trying to illegally enter the Bahamas.

The RBDF says that about six boats carrying 80-90 migrants often arrive at one time.

The migrants are usually intercepted at sea and transferred to the immigration department, from where they are often deported back to Haiti.

President Trump announced he was ending the programmer in 2017, but this has been repeatedly challenged in court.