86 mainly teenage migrants from Ecuador and Peru, have
been found by Costa Rican officials adrift in their packed boat for
three days. They sent a message in a bottle saying: ‘Please Help Us’.
It is believed that the group were abandoned by people smugglers when
the vessel got into trouble. The smugglers stripped the boat of radio
and communication equipment when they left it. The bottle, and the SOS
message it contained, was found by local fishermen who alerted
officials. The group was hoping to reach Guatemala, from where they
wanted to cross the border to Mexico, according to a spokesperson for
Costa Rica’s public security ministry.