U.S Coast Guard rescue crews ended the search for survivors Wednesday afternoon after an illegal voyage vessel reportedly abandoned a group of 10 undocumented non-citizens.
The incident occurred at the entrance of San Juan Harbor, Puerto Rico.
Coast Guard units conducted 12 surface and two air searches for survivors, covering an area of approximately 90 nautical miles.
According to the U.S Coast Guard, the Good Samaritan vessel rescued two individuals found clinging to buoy six on Tuesday evening.
Following the rescue, the crew of a San Juan Municipal Police marine unit embarked the two male survivors of Dominican Republic nationality and transferred them to U.S. Border Patrol custody.
A Coast Guard release said initial statements from survivors indicated that the vessel operator told the group to jump into the water, forcing them to swim a considerable distance to shore.
The two survivors also reported losing sight of the eight others as the group continued to swim to shore.
Only two of them were wearing lifejackets.
