U.S. Coast Guards Stop Searching For Missing Passengers Of Sunken Boat

San Juan, Puerto Rico (AHN) - U.S. Coast Guards on Wednesday suspended four days of unfruitful sea search for 90 Dominican Republic nationals who have been missing since Saturday after their boat sank before reaching Puerto Rico.

The search by a cutter, helicopter and other aircraft over an 80-mile area of the Mona Passage between the two Caribbean island states was called off as no sign of the bodies and the wooden boat was seen.

Coast Guard spokesman Ricardo Castrodad said the boat left the southeastern Dominican Republic for Puerto Rico last Wednesday night and a woman whose boyfriend was on the boat alerted authorities that it was missing on Saturday, according to Msnbc.com. More relatives of the missing people reported to authorities that the boat did not arrive in Puerto Rico on Friday as scheduled.

The U.S. Coast Guard and rescue crews from the Dominican Republic launched the search on Sunday.

Hundreds of Dominican Republic nationals try to illegally enter Puerto Rico by sea to seek their fortune in the U.S. territory.