9849: Haitians-Boat (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Greg Chamberlain <GregChamberlain@compuserve.com>

   MIAMI, Dec 4 (AP) -- The Coast Guard suspended its search Tuesday for
two Haitians who were among more than 180 passengers of an overloaded boat
that ran aground off the Florida coast the day before.
   Several immigrants abandoned the ship and reached nearby uninhabited
islands. Authorities said they had found all but the two who remained
missing. It was not immediately known whether the two made it to shore.
   The 31-foot wooden boat ran out of fuel Monday in 3 feet of water at
Biscayne National Park north of Key Largo, about 10 miles south of Miami.
   Immigration and Naturalization Service officials took the 185 immigrants
Monday night to a detention center near Miami for questioning. The U.S.
government usually sends illegal Haitian immigrants back to their homeland.
   Some on the boat said they left Cap Haitien, Haiti, 10 days ago. Cap
Haitien is more than 625 miles from Miami.