At least 39 people were missing after a boat capsized off Florida on Saturday, US Coast Guard said on Tuesday.

“USGC rescue crews are currently searching for 39 people after their boat reportedly capsized on Saturday night approximately 45 miles east of Fort Pierce Inlet,” the US Coast Guard tweeted.

Authorities suspect it was a human smuggling venture.

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The Miami Coast Guard sector was reportedly alerted after a good Samaritan rescued a man clinging to a capsized boat around 8 am on Tuesday morning.

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The man told the officials that he and 39 others left from Bimini in the Bahamas on Saturday night and their vessel capsized due to bad weather. He added that none of the passengers were wearing a life jacket when the vessel overturned. 

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“Multiple cutters & aircraft are searching from Bimini, Bahamas to Fort Pierce Inlet,” the US Coast Guard tweeted.

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.

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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.

With inputs from The Associated Press