Machete Fight Sparked Deadly Capsizing Near Puerto Rico; 2 Dead, 40 Rescued, Several Missing

A makeshift boat carrying about 60 people capsized near Mona Island, west of Puerto Rico, late on Sunday, Sept. 27, after a violent fight broke out onboard, authorities said.

Two people were confirmed dead, 40 were rescued and several others remained missing as of Monday, Sept. 28, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.

The Coast Guard said the vessel overturned around 11 p.m. after a fight erupted and several people were severely injured by a machete. With no life jackets, those aboard were forced into the water and tried to swim toward Mona Island, about 10 miles west of Puerto Rico.

For roughly 12 hours, survivors remained in the water. Around noon on Monday, Sept. 28, another boat came across the group and alerted authorities, who pulled four people from the water, the Coast Guard said.

Coast Guard crews and partners in Operation Vigilant Sentry and Operation Bahamas, Turks and Caicos later located two deceased victims and rescued 40 more people. Several people who had been on the vessel are still unaccounted for.

Authorities were searching the Florida Straits, Windward Passage, Mona Passage and Caribbean Sea. It was not immediately clear where the makeshift boat departed from.

The Mona Passage, which separates Puerto Rico from the Dominican Republic, is a known and often dangerous route for migrants trying to reach Puerto Rico.

The capsize is the latest in a long series of dangerous maritime incidents involving migrants from countries including Haiti, many fleeing gang violence and instability at home. In 2022, a similar incident left 11 people dead and 38 rescued.

On Sept. 22, a makeshift boat carrying 60 Haitian migrants was stopped by authorities in the Turks and Caicos Islands, according to The Miami Herald. Another 240 Haitian migrants were detained near the archipelago in June. The newspaper reported that about 1,435 Haitians have been stopped by authorities in the Turks and Caicos in 2026.

The reports follow the displacement of 1.5 million people across Haiti due to gang violence, according to a United Nations International Organization for Migration report released Sept. 25.

A vessel awaits rescue near Mona Island on Sept. 28, 2026. Credit: United States Coast Guard

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