PORT CANAVERAL, Fla. – A cruise ship returning to Port Canaveral from Mexico rescued 24 people over the weekend, according to MSC Cruises.
According to the cruise line, the ship MSC Meraviglia was coming back from Cozumel, Mexico, on Saturday when the boat in distress was spotted.
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“Our crew notified the United States Coast Guard and started a rescue operation immediately,” the cruise line said in a statement.
The people were brought on board the MSC Meraviglia and evaluated by medical personnel.
The 24 people disembarked Sunday once the ship docked and were taken into custody of the U.S. Coast Guard.
No other information has been provided on those rescued.
Read the full statement below:
Before the rescue, passenger Rick Teresi said he watched the people bailing water out of their boat.
“They were really getting tossed around just trying to survive in the rough seas,” Teresi said.
The 24 people disembarked Sunday once the ship docked and were taken into custody of the U.S. Coast Guard before Customs and Border Protection told News 6 Monday the 24 people were transferred to ICE. CBP confirmed that those rescued were not U.S. citizens.
The rescue comes days after two cruise ships rescued two dozen migrants in small boats off the Florida coast.
U.S. Border Patrol and Coast Guard crews patrolling South Florida and the Keys have been experiencing the largest escalation of migrations by boat in nearly a decade, with hundreds of interceptions in recent months. Most of the migrants are from Cuba and Haiti and are escaping economic turmoil, food shortages and soaring inflation.
“I think they should be given a chance once they arrive in the United States as refuges, but I do like them to see follow a process, not just sneak in the back door,” Teresi said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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