Santo Domingo, DR: Thirteen Haitians appeared last night after the vehicle that was transporting them clandestinely fell into an irrigation canal in the Valverde province, the National Police reported Monday.
The deceased are nine men, two women and two girls, Police spokesman Diego Pesqueira told EFE. They were all in an all-terrain vehicle that skidded around 11:30 p.m. Sunday and fell into an irrigation canal in La Peñuela, in Valverde, a province on the border with Haiti, a fact under investigation.
So far, according to Pesqueira, only four of the thirteen disappeared have been identified.
Every year, the Dominican Republic receives hundreds of miles of undocumented Haitians fleeing the precarious conditions of the neighboring country, currently submerged in a crisis of all kinds, aggravated by the violence of armed gangs.
The Dominican Republic deported 120,900 irregular foreigners last year, almost all of Haitian origin, a figure that it reached with great success this year if monthly returns in 2023 are considered.
On several occasions, the Dominican Government has highlighted the economic burden represented by the undocumented community from Haiti.
