JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Three cargo ship stowaways from Nigeria being treated at Baptist Medical Center have told authorities that two other stowaways went overboard during the voyage.
A fishing vessel apparently spotted one of the stowaways and notified Florida Fish and Wildlife, which was in nearby waters. That's when authorities learned that there was more than just one stowaway.
Customs & Border Protection interviewed the three stowaways, who jumped from the Panamanian cargo ship Petra on Thursday. The three told investigators there were originally five stowaways when they left Lagos, Nigeria, on Aug. 7, but two other stowaways went overboard days before the three were found Thursday.
CBP officials are trying to verify that claim.
The Coast Guard conducted a thorough inspection Friday morning of the Petra, which carries cars around the world.
Port Area Director Douglas Straatsma showed News4Jax just how easily stowaways got onto the Petra, carrying cars from Africa to JaxPort.
"If you come alongside with a fishing boat or however, you can often climb up into this area," Straatsma said. "It's been utilized for people, too. Stowaways have used this not just in Jacksonville, but it's also been used to smuggle contraband and packages in this area of a vessel."
Authorities said the three were on the ship for about two weeks inside the rudder compartment when someone aboard the Petra encountered the stowaways. That's when one jumped into the water, while the other two clung to the side of the ship.
"Two other stowaways were retrieved and they were brought to the Coast Guard station in Jacksonville. They had been in the water compartment in the vessel for 13 days," Straatsma said.
"Why isn't that area checked?" asked News4Jax's Francesca Amiker.
"That's just it. It's very hard to access," Straatsma said.
The three are now being treated for sun exposure and dehydration at Baptist Medical Center. Once they have recovered, authorities will begin the deportation process, and they will be returned to Nigeria.
"We'll encounter it and then will target and say we have to watch these vessels and this itinerary, this is the hotspots today and this is where people are trying to escape the desperate lives in so we have to, will pick up the enforcement," Straatsma said.