San Juan, Jan 25 (EFE; additional context by The Costa Rica Star).– Three French citizens who were sailing on a catamaran from the Dominican Republic to the island of St. Martin were rescued by Puerto Rican authorities when their boat began to founder.

In a press release, the U.S. Coast Guard stationed in San Juan said that the trio sent out a distress call at 2 a.m. Sunday when they were 25 nautical miles southeast of Mona, an islet midway between the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico.

The Coast Guard sent a vessel and two aircraft to the area to render aid, but the crew of the catamaran could not specify their precise location and so the authorities activated their electronic equipment to find them in the dark.

Eventually, a rescue team spotted a distant light and upon approaching the location found the three people wearing life vests and clinging to the half-sunken catamaran.

The trio were taken to the office of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection in the western coastal city of Mayagüez. EFE

This shipwreck is the second reported this weekend involving tourists in the Caribbean. As reported by The Costa Rica Star yesterday, 13 tourists perished when a Nicaraguan tour boat capsized off the Corn Islands on Saturday.

Officials are investigating the causes of the incident; thus far the tour boat captain may face criminal charges as some of the victims, who were all from Costa Rica, were not wearing flotation devices.

There is also speculation about no warnings given by the Nicaraguan Naval Force to mariners about ocean conditions.