(iht) - A group of 16 undocumented Cuban migrants has landed in Honduras after two weeks at sea, an immigration official said Sunday.
Francisco Alvarado of Honduras' regional immigration office said the nine men, four women and three children were in good health after setting out on March 31 from the Cuban province of Manzanillo.
"One of the motors broke down and while we repaired it, we were surrounded by sharks for a whole day," migrant Raymundo Legon Rivero told local television.
Some of the migrants drank sea water after their drinking water ran out, Legon Rivero said. They reached the island of Guanaja on April 14 and were taken to mainland Honduras on Friday.
Cubans bound for the United States are increasingly traveling through Mexico and Central America instead of trying to get past U.S. Coast Guard patrols off Florida.
Most Cuban migrants who arrive in Honduras are granted 15- or 30-day visas in Honduras and immediately leave for the U.S.