Boat Refugees Rescued Off East Coast
NEW YORK — Coast Guard and Customs and Border Protection officials met a freighter off the Brooklyn coast on Wednesday to question 14 African men who had been rescued at sea.
Customs officials said the men, who range in age from 23 to 43, were on a British registered yacht about 800 nautical miles east of Cape Cod when they called for help due to weather and sea conditions.
A Hong Kong registered freighter called The Melbourne rescued the men, who left their 50-foot vessel adrift back on January 28. The Melbourne’s captain then called ahead to Coast Guard officials who met the boat this morning as it approached shore.
