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Twenty found dead off coast of Bahamas


    ATLANTA (Reuters) - Rescue crews recovered 20 bodies and three survivors off the coast of the Bahamas, the U.S. Coast Guard said on Monday, after an apparent bid by migrants to flee their impoverished homelands.

    The survivors, one Honduran and two Haitians, were found inthe water screaming for help in darkness around 15 miles (24km) northwest of the Bahamas capital Nassau.

    A crew member from the Lady in Red fishing boat heard criesin the water around 4:45 a.m. on Sunday and notified Bahamianauthorities, triggering an air and sea operation, the CoastGuard said in a statement.

    "There was never any boat or vessel located," said BarryBena, first petty officer with the Coast Guard.

    Boats regularly leave Haiti, the poorest country in theAmericas, carrying migrants in search of work and a better lifein the Bahamas and reports of drownings are common.

    Last May, scores of people drowned when a vessel that hadleft Haiti capsized in the Caribbean, the U.S. Coast Guardsaid.

    (Writing by Matthew Bigg; Editing by Doina Chiacu)