Boat carrying 32 capsizes in eastern Caribbean; 16 missing

One person died and 16 are missing after a boat capsized near the eastern Caribbean island of St. Kitts early Tuesday, authorities said.

The boat was carrying 32 passengers, 16 of which were rescued, according to the government's Antigua and Barbuda Broadcasting Services.

Officials in Antigua are leading the search and said the majority of those rescued are from unidentified countries in Africa. It was not immediately clear where the person who died was from.


The boat sank about 40 miles (60 kilometers) northwest of Antigua. It was not immediately clear where it was headed, Col. Telbert Benjamin, chief of defense for Antigua and Barbuda's Defense Force, told the government's media outlet.

An official with the Antigua and Barbuda Coast Guard told The Associated Press the search for possible survivors was continuing.