The U.S. Coast Guard searched on Tuesday for 39 people missing for several days after a boat believed to be used for human smuggling capsized off Florida’s coast en route from the Bahamas. A good Samaritan called the Coast Guard early Tuesday after rescuing a man clinging to the boat 45 miles (72 kilometers) east of Fort Pierce, the maritime security agency reported on Twitter. The man said he was with a group of 39 others that left the island of Bimini in the Bahamas on Saturday night. He said the boat capsized in severe weather and that no one was wearing life jackets. The survivor was brought to a hospital for symptoms of dehydration and sun exposure. Read: Pfizer begins testing omicron-matched COVID shots in adults The Coast Guard is calling it a suspected human smuggling case. Officials said on Twitter that they are searching by both air and sea over a roughly 135-mile (218-kilometer) area extending from Bimini to the Fort Pierce Inlet. A cold front late Saturday brought rough weather to the Bimini area. Tommy Sewell, a local bonefishing guide, said there were 20-mph (32-kph) winds and fierce squalls of rain on Sunday into Monday. Migrants have long used the islands of the Bahamas as a steppingstone to reach Florida and the United States. They typically try to take advantage of breaks in the weather to make the crossing, but the vessels are often dangerously overloaded and prone to capsizing. There have been thousands of deaths over the years. The Coast Guard patrols the waters around Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Cuba and the Bahamas. For the most part, the migrants are from Haiti and Cuba but the Royal Bahamas Defense Force has reported apprehending migrants from other parts of the world, including from Colombia and Ecuador earlier this month. On Friday, the Coast Guard found 88 Haitians in an overloaded sail freighter west of Great Inagua, Bahamas. “Navigating the Florida straits, Windward and Mona Passages ... is extremely dangerous and can result in loss of life,” the Coast Guard said in a statement last weekend. Last July, the Coast Guard rescued 13 people after their boat capsized off of Key West as Tropical Storm Elsa approached. Read:Missing World War II aircraft found in India after 77 years The survivors said they had left Cuba with 22 people aboard. Nine went missing in the water.

The death toll from Wednesday's boat accident in the Padma river off the coast of Shibganj upazila has risen to four with the recovery of two more bodies, officials said Thursday. Eight people are still missing, officials said. Read:999 call: 7 tourists stuck on boat in Kaptai Lake rescued after hours The tragedy occurred Wednesday afternoon when the boat carrying over 30 people sank in the Padma river off the coast of Laxmipur in Shibganj. Two people drowned while 20 others went missing. The deceased were identified as Nilufar Begum, 62, wife of Khairul Islam of Bish Rossia village in Panka union of Shibganj upazila, and her granddaughter Maisha, 5, daughter of Babu Ali. Shibganj Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Shakib Al Rabbi said the boat carrying over 30 people capsized in the river around 2.15 pm owing to strong winds. Read: 2 dead, 7 missing in Sirajganj boat accident The boat was heading towards Bishrashia from Boglauri of Shibganj upazila. The two bodies were recovered by local residents. Later in the evening, divers recovered two more bodies, identified as Asmaul 5, son of Fitu Ali, and his sister Ayesha, 3, of Sadar upazila -- from the river.

Four day labourers went missing as two boat capsized in the Padma River in Sadipur union in Kumarkhali upazila on Tuesday morning.   The missing people are- Jewel, 30, son of Haran Sheikh, Jakir, 25, son of Nozu, Shariful, 31, son of Jalil and Juba, 32, all are residents of Jamalpur village in Bahadurpur union of Bheramara upazila.   Tofazzal Hossain, union parishad chairman of Sadipur union, said the two boats carrying 13 day labourers were going to a char of the Padma river for cutting grass.   I At one stage, the two boats sank in the middle of the river due to strong current around 8:30am.   Though nine labourers managed to swim ashore, four went missing, he said.   Omio Kumar Biswas , duty officer of Kumarkhali fire service, said a  fire service team of Pabna reached the spot and they are conducting rescue drive.