Coast Guard suspends search for migrants off Florida

By ADRIANA GOMEZ LICON
Associated Press

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. (AP) — The Coast Guard says it has suspended its rescue operations in the search for dozens of migrants lost at sea off Florida. The maritime security agency called off its active search for survivors at sunset Thursday. Homeland Security Investigations officials say they are treating the case as a human smuggling operation. A lone survivor was found clinging to the hull of the overturned boat on Tuesday. He said the boat capsized late Saturday after he and 39 others had set out for Florida from Bimini, a chain of islands in the Bahamas. Authorities have now found a total of five bodies, leaving 34 missing five days after the vessel capsized.