Antigua and Barbuda’s Prime Minister Gaston Browne has said the government will launch a full investigation into the migrant boat accident, which resulted in at least three people losing their lives in waters between Antigua and Barbuda and St Kitts and Nevis.
In a statement Prime Minister Browne expressed “deep sorrow at the loss of life and distress suffered by persons aboard a vessel” that left Antigua in the early hours of Tuesday morning with 32 people, including two Antiguans, on board.
He said Antigua and Barbuda will not turn its back on the more than 600 West African migrants, who were left in the country, after being brought to the Caribbean as tourists between November 2022 and January 2023 by Antigua Airways.
Prime Minister Browne said Antigua will uphold its international obligations against human trafficking and illegal migration by strengthening its domestic institutions and enhancing their cooperation with regional and hemispheric partners.
He also gave the assurance that Antigua and Barbuda will continue to offer refuge to the survivors of the boat tragedy, and that appropriate arrangements will be made for the burial of the deceased.
