The case of the stowaways found in St. Maarten, in the Dutch West Indies, is growing more sad by the day. More deaths are suspected among the group that hid beneath a huge load of over one million concrete blocks that were being barged to St. Maarten from Barahona. The rough seas caused the make-shift refuge to collapse, pinning the stowaways under tons of blocks. Three of the stowaways are classified as “disappeared”.
The Dominican Consul in St. Maarten, Doris Vasquez Martinez, told reporters that she felt that there were more missing stowaways. She also said that one of the 11 that were rescued had been deported from St. Maarten just two months ago, and this lead them to believe there was a network of smugglers operating the illegal voyages.
Some rumors place the number of stowaways as high as 20. The consul said that her information, gathered from the eleven rescued seemed to indicate that there were just 14 on this trip. As to whether the three missing stowaways were lost as sea or were able to swim ashore at Anguila or St. Maarten was still a question waiting to be answered. The shipping company, Ship Maritime, LLC, has assumed the costs for the return of the eleven survivors.