Tallahassee, Florida, USA (AP) – The US Coast Guard stopped its search for 10 Cuban immigrants whose boat capsized south of Key West last week.

Authorities rescued two women and six men on Thursday, and took two bodies out of the water.

“The Coast Guard, Defense Department agencies, and local agencies have been searching continuously in the past three days to find the 10 missing persons,” said Captain Adam Shami, commander of the Coast Guard in the Key West sector.

The decision to suspend research is always difficult and is only made after all circumstances are considered. We offer our sincere condolences to the families affected by this tragedy. ”

The Coast Guard, Navy, and Air Force participated in the search. The survivors told the authorities that they left Cuba on Sunday and that the boat sank on Wednesday evening.

The Coast Guard patrol found the survivors in the water Thursday.

The Coast Guard has intercepted 308 Cubans on the high seas since October, 200 of them in the past two months. Only 49 Cubans were intercepted between October 2019 and September 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic imposed restrictions.