Santo Domingo: A fire chief in the eastern Dominican Republic says at least 10 people drowned when a boat overloaded with migrants overturned off the country's coast.
Jeffrey Pimentel says the wooden boat was filled with migrants trying to reach Puerto Rico across the Mona Passage.
Pimentel says survivors say there were about 60 people on board and many of them are missing. He said 10 bodies had been recovered and nine people had been rescued.
The country's Civil Defence department was searching the ocean on Saturday by sea and air for more survivors.
Thousands of Dominican migrants cross over to the US island territory every year in open boats known that are ill-suited to the treacherous journey.
Bureau Report
First Published: Sunday, February 05, 2012, 10:57