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#BreakingNews 10 people missing after reportedly leaving Havana, Cuba Sunday for Florida in a 6-foot makeshift vessel. @USCG crews are searching. #SAR pic.twitter.com/cDIBnBx578

— USCGSoutheast (@USCGSoutheast) February 12, 2021

The two searches came just days after the Coast Guard rescued three Cuban nationals located on a deserted Bahaman island, where officials said the men spent 33 days living off coconuts. The men told Coast Guard officials that their vessel capsized in rough waters and that they swam to the deserted island, officials said.

Coast Guard officials say they have seen a recent increase in rescue operations involving Cuban nationals attempting the treacherous journey to seek asylum in the United States.

On Feb. 8, a Coast Guard crew intercepted a makeshift wooden sailboat containing eight Cuban migrants in the waters off Key West after a boater spotted them and contacted authorities. A Coast Guard crew and agents from U.S. Customs and Border Patrol responded to the scene and rescued the seven men and one woman aboard the vessel, officials said.

They were all returned to Cuba, according to a statement from the Coast Guard.

On Jan. 12, seven Cuban nationals were rescued by Coast Guard and Border Patrol agents after their small wooden vessel sank off the Florida Keys. All of those rescued survived and were returned to Cuba, officials said.

Since Oct. 1, the Coast Guard said it has intercepted or rescued 58 Cuban migrants attempting illegal voyages to the United States across the Florida Straits.

“The Coast Guard and our partner agencies will continue to rescue and repatriate undocumented migrants who take to the sea in unseaworthy vessels without safety equipment or a way to call for help,\" Lt. Cmdr. Mario Gil, Coast Guard liaison officer to Cuba, said in a statement last week. \"Voyages like these are never worth the risk. The Florida Straits waters are unpredictable and the risk for loss of life is great on vessels such as this.\"

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