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Survivor of capsized boat off Fort Pierce is Colombian, country's government says

Man's sister dies after boat departed from Bimini
Man rescued from overturned boat off Fort Pierce, Jan. 25, 2022
Posted at 3:14 PM, Jan 28, 2022
and last updated 2022-01-28 15:21:07-05

MIAMI — Colombia's government says the sole survivor of a boat found off Florida's coast was a young Colombian man traveling with his younger sister.

She was among those killed when the boat capsized Saturday evening shortly after setting out for Florida from Bimini in the Bahamas.

Authorities in Florida have found five bodies and believe 34 others also died in the migrant voyage.

Colombia's foreign ministry said in an email that it first heard from the Colombian siblings' mother earlier this week that her son had been found and transferred to a hospital.

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The ministry confirmed that the sister had died.

The man who survived the fated voyage was found hanging onto the overturned vessel by a good Samaritan on Tuesday morning off the coast of Fort Pierce.

The Coast Guard spent three days searching for survivors, finding five bodies but no other survivors. The search was suspended at sunset Thursday.